“DevPanel is like training wheels for AWS.”
That’s how the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) describes their journey from vendor lock-in to total cloud freedom—without needing to learn the intricacies of cloud infrastructure.

If your team has ever wanted to move to AWS but felt overwhelmed by the complexity, this case study is for you.

From Overwhelmed to Empowered

AMA is the largest model aviation organization in the United States, serving hobbyists, clubs, and educational institutions. As their digital needs grew, so did their technical challenges. AMA wasn’t managing one or two websites—they were juggling over 30, built on a mix of Drupal, Backdrop, and WordPress.

Under their previous setup, even simple tasks like spinning up a staging environment could require multiple people and coordination with third-party vendors. Security updates, SSL configuration, load balancing—these were outsourced or handled manually, draining time and resources.

AMA knew they needed to modernize. They wanted the flexibility and scalability of AWS. But like many small teams, they lacked the internal DevOps capacity and cloud expertise to make that move—until they found DevPanel.

DevPanel: AWS Without the Learning Curve

AMA turned to DevPanel, a cloud development and hosting platform purpose-built to make AWS accessible to everyone, not just cloud engineers.

What makes DevPanel unique is that it abstracts the complexity of AWS—no need to know how to configure EKS, RDS, S3, or handle VPC networking, SSL certificates, or Kubernetes clusters. DevPanel handles all of that for you behind the scenes.

With DevPanel, AMA was able to:

• Migrate 30+ sites to AWS without learning cloud infrastructure
  
• Reduce their team size from several people to just one person managing all web operations
  
• Create dev, test, and staging environments on-demand, without waiting on a hosting company
  
• Secure and automate their stack, from CI/CD to backups and patches
  
• Standardize site management across CMS platforms, all from a single dashboard
  

One Platform. All the Control.

Before DevPanel, AMA’s developers were often stuck waiting for hosting vendors to complete tasks. Want to test a change in a new environment? Submit a ticket. Need a dev copy of a site? Wait days or weeks. Want consistent backups or updates? Add more overhead or outsource it.

Now, all of that is self-service. A single person can spin up secure, scalable infrastructure on AWS in minutes—and manage 30+ sites as easily as one.

Whether it’s a Drupal site for club memberships or a WordPress blog for educational content, it’s all managed through DevPanel’s dashboard. No custom scripts, no shell access, no cloud certification needed.

Security, Simplified

Security was another area where AMA saw a huge benefit.

Previously, SSL certificates, infrastructure hardening, and system updates had to be manually handled or contracted out. This increased risk and created blind spots.

With DevPanel, security is baked in. Certificates are issued and renewed automatically. Infrastructure and software are patched without developer intervention. DevPanel even builds CI/CD pipelines with built-in security controls—so teams can push confidently without introducing vulnerabilities.

AMA didn’t need to worry about compliance, networking rules, or IAM roles. DevPanel took care of it all.

Quantifiable Wins

Here’s how AMA’s transformation looks side by side:

Metric	Before DevPanel	After DevPanel
Sites Managed	~30	30+
People Required	Multiple team members	Just one person
CMS Types Supported	Drupal, WordPress, Backdrop	Same — now unified in one dashboard
AWS Knowledge Needed	Extensive	None
Dev/Test/Stage Setup	Manual via vendor	Fully automated and self-service
Security Configuration	Manual or outsourced	Fully automated
Infrastructure Cost	Higher	Lower (via AWS resource optimization)

A Voice from the AMA Team

“DevPanel is like training wheels for AWS. It lets us take full advantage of the cloud without the complexity. One person on our team now manages over 30 websites without needing to know AWS at all.”
— AMA Web Team

This testimonial speaks to a broader reality in tech today: organizations want cloud benefits without cloud complexity. With DevPanel, that’s possible.

Why This Matters for You

If you’re in charge of web operations, especially at a nonprofit, government agency, or education-focused organization, chances are:

• You have multiple websites to manage
  
• Your resources are stretched thin
  
• You’re interested in AWS for its power and flexibility
  
• But your team doesn’t have the time (or the appetite) to learn AWS internals
  

That’s where DevPanel comes in. It gives you the control of AWS without the overhead—offering all the power of cloud-native infrastructure without needing to be a DevOps expert.

Ready to See It in Action?

The full case study outlines AMA’s journey in detail, including technical implementation and operational changes. It’s a must-read if you’re evaluating your own path to AWS.

📄 Download the Full AMA Case Study →
📩 Need help with a similar project? Contact us

Don’t let infrastructure slow your team down.
If one person can manage 30+ sites on AWS, so can you—with DevPanel.