Driving digital modernization for one of the most reputed IITs in India, a 65 year old legacy.

Education and Research Institute · Linux · Apache · Drupal · Maria DB

Engagement at a glance

Two decades of fragmented microsites unified into a single, governed digital ecosystem
Modern, modular CMS built on Drupal, running on a Linux and Apache stack with a MariaDB database
Centralized governance with decentralized control across 80+ departments
Decades of academic and research content migrated without loss or duplication
Sundew led design strategy, information architecture, CMS implementation, and content migration

The business context

For over six decades, one of India's most reputed technology institutes has stood as a cradle of innovation, discovery, and excellence in science and technology, with alumni who have led global organizations, founded startups, and shaped the nation's engineering and research landscape. But as the world evolved digitally, the institution's online presence remained rooted in the past. With over 20 years of legacy content, hundreds of school- and department-level websites, and scattered digital assets, the institute's online identity no longer reflected its modern-day stature. Thousands of daily prospects, students, faculty, global partners, and government collaborators depended on this digital ecosystem every day, and it was no longer built to carry that weight.

The challenge

Over decades, the institution's digital ecosystem had evolved into a maze of disconnected microsites, each managed independently by individual departments, all running on a 20-year-old CMS with outdated design, limited accessibility, and complex workflows. Unifying that ecosystem meant more than a visual refresh. It meant reconciling hundreds of independently managed sites into one coherent platform, migrating decades of critical academic and research content without loss, and doing all of it without stripping departments of the ability to manage their own content. Sundew began with a strategic approach, engaging faculty and IT leaders through deep-dive workshops to uncover the real challenges and needs behind the fragmentation. The result was a roadmap to unify, simplify, and modernize the entire digital ecosystem while preserving the institution's identity and elevating its experience for the future.

The Sundew approach

Sundew designed and delivered a complete digital modernization, spanning design strategy, information architecture, CMS re-platforming, and content migration.

Unified design language and UX framework

A modern, minimal, research-inspired design system was built to reflect the institution's academic excellence and innovation mindset, giving hundreds of previously disconnected pages a single, coherent visual identity.

Information architecture overhaul

Navigation was reimagined for faster content discovery, helping the institution's many audiences, prospective students, current students, faculty, global partners, and government collaborators, reach the information they needed within seconds rather than hunting across disconnected microsites.

Modern CMS implementation on Drupal

The institution's 20-year-old platform was replaced with Drupal, running on a Linux and Apache stack with a MariaDB database. This gave the institution a modular, secure, and scalable CMS foundation capable of handling thousands of pages and contributors across every department, replacing the fragility of the legacy system with a platform built for long-term growth.

Data and content migration

Decades of critical academic and research content were migrated onto the new Drupal platform without loss or duplication, preserving accuracy and continuity across a digital archive built up over 20 years.

Centralized governance with decentralized control

Sundew created a governance framework where department heads can independently manage their own content within a unified, standardized design ecosystem, so departments keep autonomy over their content without fragmenting the institution's digital identity.

Future-ready departmental expansion

The modernization blueprint was built to scale to 80 or more departments, ensuring that as the institution grows, every new department integrates under the same consistent experience rather than spinning up another disconnected microsite.

The outcome

The institution moved from a maze of disconnected microsites on a legacy CMS to a single, governed digital ecosystem built on Drupal. Departments retained control over their own content, while the institution as a whole gained the consistency, accessibility, and scalability its reputation demanded. As the Director of the institution put it:
"Sundew completely revitalized our online presence. They brought clarity, consistency, and control to our website in a way no other vendor has. The team moved fast, communicated clearly, and delivered a polished, scalable system that our departments can actually manage confidently."
For Sundew, this engagement was more than a technology upgrade; it was about honoring history while designing the future, working hand-in-hand with the institution to build a platform worthy of its reputation, one that embodies clarity, confidence, and continuity.

What this means for your enterprise

If your organization is managing its digital presence as a patchwork of department-level microsites on an aging platform, the fragmentation will only compound as the organization grows. A modular, open, well-governed CMS stack, such as Drupal on Linux, Apache, and MariaDB, gives large, multi-department organizations a foundation that scales with them, without forcing every department to give up control of its own content. Digital modernization at this scale is not cosmetic; it is cultural, and it depends on design systems that create unity across complexity rather than adding to it.

"When a CMS is architected well, departmental autonomy stops being a risk and becomes the institution's growth engine."

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does the platform support 80+ departments without fragmenting the institution's digital identity?

Governance is centralized, while day-to-day content control is decentralized. Department heads manage their own content directly within Drupal, but every department operates within the same standardized design system, so the institution presents one consistent identity even as new departments are added.
What happened to two decades of existing academic and research content during the transition?

All existing content was migrated onto the new Drupal platform without loss or duplication. The migration preserved accuracy and continuity, so the institution's digital archive carried forward intact rather than being rebuilt from scratch.
Why was Drupal chosen as the CMS foundation, running on Linux, Apache, and MariaDB?

Drupal on a Linux, Apache, and MariaDB stack gave the institution a modular, secure, and scalable foundation capable of handling thousands of pages and contributors, replacing a rigid 20-year-old platform with one built for long-term departmental growth.
Can individual departments still manage their own content independently?

Yes. The governance framework was specifically designed so department heads can manage their own content independently, within the unified design ecosystem, rather than depending on a central team for every update.
How does the new platform improve the experience for prospective students, faculty, and external partners?

The information architecture was reimagined so that all of the institution's audiences, prospective students, current students, faculty, global partners, and government collaborators can reach key information within seconds, replacing the maze of disconnected microsites with a single, navigable digital ecosystem.