diff --git a/config/env/development.js b/config/env/development.js
index 1e9ac2b4..8b5fe269 100644
--- a/config/env/development.js
+++ b/config/env/development.js
@@ -16,19 +16,12 @@ module.exports = {
     // logging with Morgan - https://github.com/expressjs/morgan
     // Can specify one of 'combined', 'common', 'dev', 'short', 'tiny'
     format: 'dev',
-    options: {
-      // Stream defaults to process.stdout
-      // Uncomment/comment to toggle the logging to a log on the file system
-      // stream: {
-      //  directoryPath: process.cwd(),
-      //  fileName: 'access.log',
-      //  rotatingLogs: { // for more info on rotating logs - https://github.com/holidayextras/file-stream-rotator#usage
-      //    active: false, // activate to use rotating logs
-      //    fileName: 'access-%DATE%.log', // if rotating logs are active, this fileName setting will be used
-      //    frequency: 'daily',
-      //    verbose: false
-      //  }
-      // }
+    fileLogger: {
+      directoryPath: process.cwd(),
+      fileName: 'app.log',
+      maxsize: 10485760,
+      maxFiles: 2,
+      json: false
     }
   },
   app: {
diff --git a/config/env/production.js b/config/env/production.js
index 581944ee..cee8552b 100644
--- a/config/env/production.js
+++ b/config/env/production.js
@@ -22,19 +22,12 @@ module.exports = {
     // logging with Morgan - https://github.com/expressjs/morgan
     // Can specify one of 'combined', 'common', 'dev', 'short', 'tiny'
     format: process.env.LOG_FORMAT || 'combined',
-    options: {
-      // Stream defaults to process.stdout
-      // Uncomment/comment to toggle the logging to a log on the file system
-      stream: {
-        directoryPath: process.env.LOG_DIR_PATH || process.cwd(),
-        fileName: process.env.LOG_FILE || 'access.log',
-        rotatingLogs: { // for more info on rotating logs - https://github.com/holidayextras/file-stream-rotator#usage
-          active: process.env.LOG_ROTATING_ACTIVE === 'true', // activate to use rotating logs
-          fileName: process.env.LOG_ROTATING_FILE || 'access-%DATE%.log', // if rotating logs are active, this fileName setting will be used
-          frequency: process.env.LOG_ROTATING_FREQUENCY || 'daily',
-          verbose: process.env.LOG_ROTATING_VERBOSE === 'true'
-        }
-      }
+    fileLogger: {
+      directoryPath: process.env.LOG_DIR_PATH || process.cwd(),
+      fileName: process.env.LOG_FILE || 'app.log',
+      maxsize: 10485760,
+      maxFiles: 2,
+      json: false
     }
   },
   facebook: {
diff --git a/config/env/test.js b/config/env/test.js
index 7f1bf25b..8fdabb16 100644
--- a/config/env/test.js
+++ b/config/env/test.js
@@ -15,21 +15,14 @@ module.exports = {
   log: {
     // logging with Morgan - https://github.com/expressjs/morgan
     // Can specify one of 'combined', 'common', 'dev', 'short', 'tiny'
-    format: process.env.LOG_FORMAT || 'combined',
-    options: {
-      // Stream defaults to process.stdout
-      // Uncomment/comment to toggle the logging to a log on the file system
-      stream: {
-        directoryPath: process.cwd(),
-        fileName: 'access.log',
-        rotatingLogs: { // for more info on rotating logs - https://github.com/holidayextras/file-stream-rotator#usage
-          active: false, // activate to use rotating logs
-          fileName: 'access-%DATE%.log', // if rotating logs are active, this fileName setting will be used
-          frequency: 'daily',
-          verbose: false
-        }
-      }
-    }
+    // format: 'dev'
+    // fileLogger: {
+    //   directoryPath: process.cwd(),
+    //   fileName: 'app.log',
+    //   maxsize: 10485760,
+    //   maxFiles: 2,
+    //   json: false
+    // }
   },
   port: process.env.PORT || 3001,
   app: {
diff --git a/config/lib/express.js b/config/lib/express.js
index 2f7e1515..c3d4a88a 100644
--- a/config/lib/express.js
+++ b/config/lib/express.js
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ var config = require('../config'),
   flash = require('connect-flash'),
   consolidate = require('consolidate'),
   path = require('path'),
+  _ = require('lodash'),
   lusca = require('lusca');
 
 /**
@@ -68,8 +69,10 @@ module.exports.initMiddleware = function (app) {
   // Initialize favicon middleware
   app.use(favicon(app.locals.favicon));
 
-  // Enable logger (morgan)
-  app.use(morgan(logger.getFormat(), logger.getOptions()));
+  // Enable logger (morgan) if enabled in the configuration file
+  if (_.has(config, 'log.format')) {
+    app.use(morgan(logger.getLogFormat(), logger.getMorganOptions()));
+  }
 
   // Environment dependent middleware
   if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
diff --git a/config/lib/logger.js b/config/lib/logger.js
index 06175f49..10d39d5f 100644
--- a/config/lib/logger.js
+++ b/config/lib/logger.js
@@ -3,27 +3,128 @@
 var _ = require('lodash'),
   config = require('../config'),
   chalk = require('chalk'),
-  fileStreamRotator = require('file-stream-rotator'),
-  fs = require('fs');
+  fs = require('fs'),
+  winston = require('winston');
 
 // list of valid formats for the logging
 var validFormats = ['combined', 'common', 'dev', 'short', 'tiny'];
 
-// build logger service
-var logger = {
-  getFormat: getLogFormat, // log format to use
-  getOptions: getLogOptions // log options to use
+// Instantiating the default winston application logger with the Console
+// transport
+var logger = new winston.Logger({
+  transports: [
+    new winston.transports.Console({
+      level: 'info',
+      colorize: true,
+      showLevel: true,
+      handleExceptions: true,
+      humanReadableUnhandledException: true
+    })
+  ],
+  exitOnError: false
+});
+
+// A stream object with a write function that will call the built-in winston
+// logger.info() function.
+// Useful for integrating with stream-related mechanism like Morgan's stream
+// option to log all HTTP requests to a file
+logger.stream = {
+  write: function(msg) {
+    logger.info(msg);
+  }
 };
 
-// export the logger service
-module.exports = logger;
+/**
+ * Instantiate a winston's File transport for disk file logging
+ *
+ * @param logger a valid winston logger object
+ */
+logger.setupFileLogger = function setupFileLogger(options) {
+
+  var fileLoggerTransport = this.getLogOptions();
+  if (!fileLoggerTransport) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    // Check first if the configured path is writable and only then
+    // instantiate the file logging transport
+    if (fs.openSync(fileLoggerTransport.filename, 'a+')) {
+      logger.add(winston.transports.File, fileLoggerTransport);
+    }
+
+    return true;
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'test') {
+      console.log();
+      console.log(chalk.red('An error has occured during the creation of the File transport logger.'));
+      console.log(chalk.red(err));
+      console.log();
+    }
+
+    return false;
+  }
+
+};
+
+/**
+ * The options to use with winston logger
+ *
+ * Returns a Winston object for logging with the File transport
+ */
+logger.getLogOptions = function getLogOptions(configOptions) {
+
+  var _config = _.clone(config, true);
+  if (configOptions) {
+    _config = configOptions;
+  }
+
+  var configFileLogger = _config.log.fileLogger;
+
+  if (!_.has(_config, 'log.fileLogger.directoryPath') || !_.has(_config, 'log.fileLogger.fileName')) {
+    console.log('unable to find logging file configuration');
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  var logPath = configFileLogger.directoryPath + '/' + configFileLogger.fileName;
+
+  return {
+    level: 'debug',
+    colorize: false,
+    filename: logPath,
+    timestamp: true,
+    maxsize: configFileLogger.maxsize ? configFileLogger.maxsize : 10485760,
+    maxFiles: configFileLogger.maxFiles ? configFileLogger.maxFiles : 2,
+    json: (_.has(configFileLogger, 'json')) ? configFileLogger.json : false,
+    eol: '\n',
+    tailable: true,
+    showLevel: true,
+    handleExceptions: true,
+    humanReadableUnhandledException: true
+  };
+
+};
+
+/**
+ * The options to use with morgan logger
+ *
+ * Returns a log.options object with a writable stream based on winston
+ * file logging transport (if available)
+ */
+logger.getMorganOptions = function getMorganOptions() {
+
+  return {
+    stream: logger.stream
+  };
+
+};
 
 /**
  * The format to use with the logger
  *
  * Returns the log.format option set in the current environment configuration
  */
-function getLogFormat () {
+logger.getLogFormat = function getLogFormat() {
   var format = config.log && config.log.format ? config.log.format.toString() : 'combined';
 
   // make sure we have a valid format
@@ -38,72 +139,8 @@ function getLogFormat () {
   }
 
   return format;
-}
+};
 
-/**
- * The options to use with the logger
- *
- * Returns the log.options object set in the current environment configuration.
- * NOTE: Any options, requiring special handling (e.g. 'stream'), that encounter an error will be removed from the options.
- */
-function getLogOptions () {
-  var options = config.log && config.log.options ? _.clone(config.log.options, true) : {};
+logger.setupFileLogger({});
 
-  // check if the current environment config has the log stream option set
-  if (_.has(options, 'stream')) {
-
-    try {
-
-      // check if we need to use rotating logs
-      if (_.has(options, 'stream.rotatingLogs') && options.stream.rotatingLogs.active) {
-
-        if (options.stream.rotatingLogs.fileName.length && options.stream.directoryPath.length) {
-
-          // ensure the log directory exists
-          if (!fs.existsSync(options.stream.directoryPath)) {
-            fs.mkdirSync(options.stream.directoryPath);
-          }
-
-          options.stream = fileStreamRotator.getStream({
-            filename: options.stream.directoryPath + '/' + options.stream.rotatingLogs.fileName,
-            frequency: options.stream.rotatingLogs.frequency,
-            verbose: options.stream.rotatingLogs.verbose
-          });
-
-        } else {
-          // throw a new error so we can catch and handle it gracefully
-          throw new Error('An invalid fileName or directoryPath was provided for the rotating logs option.');
-        }
-
-      } else {
-
-        // create the WriteStream to use for the logs
-        if (options.stream.fileName.length && options.stream.directoryPath.length) {
-
-          // ensure the log directory exists
-          if (!fs.existsSync(options.stream.directoryPath)) {
-            fs.mkdirSync(options.stream.directoryPath);
-          }
-
-          options.stream = fs.createWriteStream(options.stream.directoryPath + '/' + config.log.options.stream.fileName, { flags: 'a' });
-        } else {
-          // throw a new error so we can catch and handle it gracefully
-          throw new Error('An invalid fileName or directoryPath was provided for stream option.');
-        }
-      }
-    } catch (err) {
-
-      // remove the stream option
-      delete options.stream;
-
-      if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'test') {
-        console.log();
-        console.log(chalk.red('An error has occured during the creation of the WriteStream. The stream option has been omitted.'));
-        console.log(chalk.red(err));
-        console.log();
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  return options;
-}
+module.exports = logger;
diff --git a/modules/core/tests/server/core.server.config.tests.js b/modules/core/tests/server/core.server.config.tests.js
index 310441dc..9eeeb9e7 100644
--- a/modules/core/tests/server/core.server.config.tests.js
+++ b/modules/core/tests/server/core.server.config.tests.js
@@ -426,53 +426,55 @@ describe('Configuration Tests:', function () {
     });
 
     it('should retrieve the log format from the logger configuration', function () {
+
       config.log = {
         format: 'tiny'
       };
 
-      var format = logger.getFormat();
+      var format = logger.getLogFormat();
       format.should.be.equal('tiny');
     });
 
-    it('should retrieve the log options from the logger configuration', function () {
-      config.log = {
-        options: {
-          _test_log_option_: 'testing'
-        }
-      };
+    it('should retrieve the log options from the logger configuration for a valid stream object', function () {
+
+      var options = logger.getMorganOptions();
+
+      options.should.be.instanceof(Object);
+      options.should.have.property('stream');
 
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      should.deepEqual(options, config.log.options);
     });
 
-    it('should verify that a writable stream was created using the logger configuration', function () {
+    it('should verify that a file logger object was created using the logger configuration', function () {
       var _dir = process.cwd();
       var _filename = 'unit-test-access.log';
 
       config.log = {
-        options: {
-          stream: {
-            directoryPath: _dir,
-            fileName: _filename
-          }
+        fileLogger: {
+          directoryPath: _dir,
+          fileName: _filename
         }
       };
 
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      options.stream.writable.should.equal(true);
+      var fileTransport = logger.getLogOptions(config);
+      fileTransport.should.be.instanceof(Object);
+      fileTransport.filename.should.equal(_dir + '/' + _filename);
     });
 
     it('should use the default log format of "combined" when an invalid format was provided', function () {
+
+      var _logger = require(path.resolve('./config/lib/logger'));
+
       // manually set the config log format to be invalid
       config.log = {
         format: '_some_invalid_format_'
       };
 
-      var format = logger.getFormat();
+      var format = _logger.getLogFormat();
       format.should.be.equal('combined');
     });
 
-    it('should remove the stream option when an invalid filename was supplied for the log stream option', function () {
+    it('should not create a file transport object if critical options are missing: filename', function () {
+
       // manually set the config stream fileName option to an empty string
       config.log = {
         format: 'combined',
@@ -484,112 +486,25 @@ describe('Configuration Tests:', function () {
         }
       };
 
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      should.not.exist(options.stream);
+      var fileTransport = logger.getLogOptions(config);
+      fileTransport.should.be.false();
     });
 
-    it('should remove the stream option when an invalid directory path was supplied for the log stream option', function () {
+    it('should not create a file transport object if critical options are missing: directory', function () {
+
       // manually set the config stream fileName option to an empty string
       config.log = {
         format: 'combined',
         options: {
           stream: {
             directoryPath: '',
-            fileName: 'test.log'
+            fileName: 'app.log'
           }
         }
       };
 
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      should.not.exist(options.stream);
-    });
-
-    it('should confirm that the log directory is created if it does not already exist', function () {
-      var _dir = process.cwd() + '/temp-logs';
-      var _filename = 'unit-test-access.log';
-
-      // manually set the config stream fileName option to an empty string
-      config.log = {
-        format: 'combined',
-        options: {
-          stream: {
-            directoryPath: _dir,
-            fileName: _filename
-          }
-        }
-      };
-
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      options.stream.writable.should.equal(true);
-    });
-
-    it('should remove the stream option when an invalid filename was supplied for the rotating log stream option', function () {
-      // enable rotating logs
-      config.log = {
-        format: 'combined',
-        options: {
-          stream: {
-            directoryPath: process.cwd(),
-            rotatingLogs: {
-              active: true,
-              fileName: '',
-              frequency: 'daily',
-              verbose: false
-            }
-          }
-        }
-      };
-
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      should.not.exist(options.stream);
-    });
-
-    it('should confirm that the rotating log is created using the logger configuration', function () {
-      var _dir = process.cwd();
-      var _filename = 'unit-test-rotating-access-%DATE%.log';
-
-      // enable rotating logs
-      config.log = {
-        format: 'combined',
-        options: {
-          stream: {
-            directoryPath: _dir,
-            rotatingLogs: {
-              active: true,
-              fileName: _filename,
-              frequency: 'daily',
-              verbose: false
-            }
-          }
-        }
-      };
-
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      should.exist(options.stream.write);
-    });
-
-    it('should confirm that the rotating log directory is created if it does not already exist', function () {
-      var _dir = process.cwd() + '/temp-rotating-logs';
-      var _filename = 'unit-test-rotating-access-%DATE%.log';
-
-      // enable rotating logs
-      config.log = {
-        format: 'combined',
-        options: {
-          stream: {
-            directoryPath: _dir,
-            rotatingLogs: {
-              active: true,
-              fileName: _filename,
-              frequency: 'daily',
-              verbose: false
-            }
-          }
-        }
-      };
-
-      var options = logger.getOptions();
-      should.exist(options.stream.write);
+      var fileTransport = logger.getLogOptions(config);
+      fileTransport.should.be.false();
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 90a679b4..fe1a4dae 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
     "glob": "~7.0.0",
     "grunt": "0.4.5",
     "grunt-cli": "~0.1.13",
+    "gulp-wiredep": "~0.0.0",
     "helmet": "~1.3.0",
     "jasmine-core": "~2.4.1",
     "lodash": "~4.6.1",
     "lusca": "~1.3.0",
     "method-override": "~2.3.5",
-    "gulp-wiredep": "~0.0.0",
     "mocha": "~2.4.5",
     "mongoose": "~4.4.8",
     "morgan": "~1.7.0",
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@
     "serve-favicon": "~2.3.0",
     "socket.io": "~1.4.5",
     "swig": "~1.4.2",
-    "validator": "~5.1.0"
+    "validator": "~5.1.0",
+    "winston": "^2.2.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "coveralls": "~2.11.6",