Luke, this is your Alemba.Our brand story

C O N F I D E N T I A L

GenesisIn the beginning, there was alcohol...

It was the night following a successful event.

Simon, James and Mita were enjoying the Vegas nightlife in

The Boiler Room when Simon started to stare in wonder at the

array of coloured bottles on the shelves.

Mita, fearing he’d enjoyed one too many cocktails, asked what

was wrong. “Eureka!”, he shrieked, for Simon had seen the

future of Alemba, and it was alcohol alchemy.

Ignoring the old saying, “what happens in Vegas, stays in

Vegas”, Simon and Mita promptly e-mailed Andrew...

synugeMarch 25, 2015 2:19pm

Hyperchromatic!

March 25, 2015 The Boiler Room, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

3

...but first, a history lessonThe Alemba name

They say you have to look back to move forward. (They also say a watched pot never boils — they know nothing.)

Alchemy has been part of the Alemba DNA since the beginning

— it’s where our name comes from (some light reading on the

left for you — there’ll be a test afterwards).

This scientific foundation has informed everything relating

to the Alemba brand and ethos from day one. This extends

to the logo ‘orbs’ which have also been a constant since the

beginning: atom-like, they hint to science; they represent ITSM

users connected together; multiple solutions all under the one

roof and, most importantly, they look cool.

So, fellow Alembics, let’s take a trip through time...

The name Alemba is derived from the word ‘alembic’, from the Arabic: al-anbīq, meaning “still”. A quick dictionary consultation will tell you that an alembic is an alchemical still consisting of two retorts connected by a tube, formerly used to distil liquids.

Drawing on the philosophical tradition of Alchemy (most commonly associated

with the mythical process of turning base metals into noble metals such as gold

and silver), the term ‘alembic’ can also be used in a figurative sense to refer to the

refinement and distillation of knowledge and creative thought.

It is this metaphorical use of the word on which the brand Alemba was built. The

idea of recognising the potential of raw material and distilling it into a purer, more

refined transmutation is one that has come to characterise Alemba’s business and

software development practices.

Alemba’s revolutionary vFire IT Service Management solution embraces the

principles of alembics, distilling the raw power of an Enterprise-grade ITSM system

to offer our customers a user-focused interface underpinned by the concepts of

Gamification, education and enjoyment.

This philosophy is also the cornerstone of our approach to customer service. At

Alemba we aim to serve as the alembic, or transformative catalyst, to your business.

Our range of services and software applications work together to help align your

organisation’s key resources in the optimal way to deliver a holistic, refined IT

Service management strategy that is pure gold.

2007

July 24, 2007

Alemba is bornThe connecting atom logo image reinforces the scientific nature of Alemba’s name.

5

The brand before timeAlemba evolves

Things got serious in 2010. The iPhone was continuing to make waves in the industry and Laurence — a one-man Apple sales team — was getting everyone at Alemba on the shiny icon bandwagon.

The Alemba logo was turned into a lickable, celebration of

colour. It was a much stronger brand than before with orbs

that could work equally well on their own. Neutraface was

employed as the brand font — a unique typeface with a modern

feel yet an art-deco elegance. It was a font choice years ahead

of its time by the way — it’s everywhere now.

We’d come a long way since 2007 but we’re not the sort to

rest on our candy-coloured laurels now, are we?...

Say “hi” to FireflyvFire’s first incarnation: Firefly. Although, like the TV show of the same name, it didn’t last long...

Pop!Andrew gets in a designer grump:

“Lose the faux 3D”, he says. We lose the bubbles;

everything goes flat...

OctoberApril April

July, 2010

Alemba 2.0As Alemba grows, Apple’s influence in the industry (and at Alemba, thanks to Laurence) spreads to the logo. It’s updated with new, good-enough-to-lick, colourful orbs and a new font — Neutraface.

I’m forever blowing bubblesLinking in with the new logo, bubbles are used as a fun — we’ll come back to that — background element everywhere. Laurence grows very attached to them.

20112010 2012 2013

vFire is bornFirefly’s light goes out.

It’s renamed vFire.

Seriously fun softwareWith vFire’s innovative interface, gamification fever takes over Alemba and a strapline is added to tell the world that we’re not like all the others. We’re fun!

With next generation software that runs on PCs,

Macs and iPads, Alemba can help you keep more

balls in the air. We’ll give you an instant prize if

you see anything else like vFire at the show.

Call 0203 479 7900

Service desk software. Support. Consultancy. Experience.

IT SUPPORT LIKE A JUGGLINGACT?

WE CAN HELP.

info@alembagroup.com www.alembagroup.com

home services products company forums contact us white papers login

welcome to Alemba.

020 3479 7900

consultancy. development. support. experience.the alemba difference.

Alemba is an IT Service Management consultancy with a difference. We focus on detailed product knowledge to ensure that your ITIL project will succeed. Our tool of choice is vmware’s Service Manager application (formerly Infra) and our unparalleled experience with this suite enables us to shape it quickly and easily to your needs - from configuration advice to code development.

See our Services page for examples of recent projects.

Infra Configuration specialists and Infra Certified Developers

with years of experience, Alemba can help you with any Infra

project.

IT service management • Infra Configuration • Infra Certified Developers • vmware Service Manager • vFire

Copyright © 2012 VMware Service Manager (Infra) Support and Consultancy from Alemba. All Rights Reserved.

latest news.

15/02/12 Global User Conference 2012

After the success of last year’s event, we are delighted to announce we are holding the 2012 VMware Service Manager Global User Conference at the prestigious Woodlands Park Hotel in Surrey.

Read more >

01/02/12 vFire. Now on the App Store.The client version of vFire is now available to download on the iTunes App Store. Easy to use, slick and built from the ground up for the iPad; IT support has never been so much fun!

Read more >

ALEMBAGLOBAL

USERCONFERENCE

2012

ho

t!

IT SUPPORT LIKE A JUGGLING ACT?

WE CAN HELP.

“Our business simply could not run without Alemba’s solutions behind us.”

Joe Bloggs, Northgate Information Solutions

Stepping up our gameArmed with our new strapline, we start

building strong marketing collateral including exhibition graphics, adverts and

a funky new website.Appy daysWork begins on a

native iPad app.

May

Hi, Melvin!Laurence employs Melvin, an Atlantic Puffin, as Alemba’s brand ambassador. He spends most of his time travelling, lounging around, sunbathing, and flirting with girls at exhibitions. (Melvin, not Laurence.)

Stand and deliverAlemba’s new look is shown off in public at

SDITS, London. Bubbles!

7

New beginningsA new brand for a new Alemba

It started as an idea when working on website visuals in 2012 — a flatter, more modern, brand.

The change didn’t happen overnight. Heated discussions

between Simon, Laurence and Mita lasted weeks. After

Mita had beaten them into submission, Marketing went into

overdrive. Everything was updated — even the Melvin toys.

You know, Melvin? The puffin? Ask Laurence.

Anyway, the biggest thing to happen to the Alemba brand

was actually not even related to design. It was the deal in mid-

2014 to partner with VMware. The influx of investment, staff

and customers meant Alemba was now truly one of the big

players in the industry. Our brand needed to reflect that...

2014

Back to flatThe highlights, gradients and bevels are all removed to create a simpler, stronger brand.

JuneMarch April

Alemba develops vFire, the innovative ITSM application that allows users to engage with an enterprise-grade ITSM system in a fun way.

AboutAlemba

alembagroup.com

S U C C E S S S T O R Y

alembagroup.com

Cardiff University:Implementing an HR System into an ITSM Tool

The Customer

Founded in 1883 Cardiff University boasts 6000

staff members and 28 000 students across two

main campuses, three colleges and 27 schools.

Cardiff University and Alemba:

The Partnership

Cardiff University procured Infra v8 through an EU

tender process in December 2007, and presently

owns 70 concurrent and 60 named licenses.

The university has held a maintenance contract

with Alemba since December 2010.

Enterprise ITSM software

alembagroup.com

Putting the Fun into FunctionalityCombining a simple yet striking design interface with deep ITSM functionality, vFire Officer has revolutionized the way support staff interact with their ITSM systems.

O F F I C E R

alembagroup.com

Self-Service Portal that’s a joy to useDesigned with user enjoyment in mind, Alemba’s vFire Customer Portal re-imagines the way your customers interact with the IT department.

P O R T A L

We’re still fun by the wayA simple message for the ITSM

world, seen here against the backdrop of a delightful “floral vomit” patterned hotel carpet.

October

.com and get itWe are now the proud

owners of alemba.com!

July

Fanning the flamesFireSM is announced at SITS 2013. Although development is halted due to an exciting announcement around the corner...

2014

Under new management!A cheeky announcement to say that

VMware Service Manager is now Alemba’s!

Under newmanagement

Visit stand G2 for more informationalemba.com

Pure exhibitionistsA confident brand and strong message combine with a striking video and funky polo shirts to make Fusion 14 in Washington a roaring success.

Bye Melvin!Our puffin mascot gets turned into a USB stick. Accessing your data by seabird decapitation has never been so much fun.

November

98

Present dayWhere do we go from here?

A good brand is never static. It lives and breathes, responding to internal and external forces. To adapt yet stay recognisable is the sign of a strong brand.

An opportunity presented itself when we tried to register

Alemba’s logo as a trademark. Shutterstock contested our

application since they used an icon with a similar configuration

of orbs. Simon, turning lemons into lemonade (a true alchemist)

was not perturbed.

“Why don’t we change the logo, Andrew?”, he said.

“Do you have any ideas floating around your head that you’d

like to play with?”

Andrew, always up for a challenge (after a whine and a

wine, anyway) went off and came back with some concepts.

Some awful, some good, but one in particular showed promise.

It all started April 2015...

June 20162015

Rolling out the pink carpetShowing our face at several events, each one bringing the same slick stand visuals, Alemba builds buzz within the industry. The Alemba stand at SITS 2015 was arguably the best positioned and most striking there.

vFire mobile launchesWith a new cleaner design, vFire mobile shows a simpler interface.

Less fun, more function.

April

Repositioning AlembaWith ‘fun’ well and truly gone (well, we like to think we still have a degree of quirk) a new mission statement was needed. “Service Management Software” is used as a temporary strapline. Meanwhile, cue a monumental brainstorm session resulting in Alemba’s relation to A L C H E M Y .

Black is the new blackA bold new look is presented

for Service Management 2015 in Sydney. The design — a circle

of merged orbs — is a result of thoughts on alchemy.

August

11

What’s in a name?A new USP

April, 2015

After weeks of deliberation, ‘alchemy’ was it. Evocative and embodying everything Alemba stands for — it was perfect.

Ironically, it had been staring us in the face all this time.

Do you remember where the name Alemba comes from?

(We told you you’d be tested).

That’s right, Alemba comes from alembic — an alchemical still.

From then on, the new strapline informed the design process:

The Alchemy of Software and Service

The logo was now on black. Where once we had bubbles in

our backgrounds, now we had an array of orbs all in the

Alemba colours; additively mixed to create bright whites and

different shades.

We saw what we had made and it was good. But it wasn’t time

to rest...

13

The Alemba EquationHere comes the science bit — concentrate!

July, 2015

Exploring an idea as much as humanly possible is part of the fun of a branding exercise. Simon, as is his wont, wanted to try introducing an equation into the mix.

Something that would describe Alemba’s solutions in a simple,

scientific form. A clever little equation that would give people

reason to stop, think and give a wry smile when they crack it.

ucontrol

(infrastructure) i

“Great, Simon!”, we said. “Whaaaat?”, we thought.

Perhaps a bit too high concept but it’s all part of the journey.

What bothered Andrew more at this point was the Alemba

logo and fancy new imagery was just... not... quite... working.

Answer: Giving you (u!) control over complex infrastructure

15

Logo go-goIt’s served us well, but it’s time for a change

October, 2015

The boldness of the Alemba logo was at odds with the new clean typography, and the coloured orbs clashed with the funky alchemy ones. Something had to give.

Countless designs were made: removing the logo orbs,

lightening the font weight, trying new orbs, adding dots,

adding lines... nothing was working.

Andrew grew despondent. It was a dark time. He started

drinking whisky, listening to Radiohead, watching Requiem for

a Dream on loop.

Then — as before with alchemy — the answer was staring us in

the face. Particles.

As part of the alchemy brainstorming session, Andrew had

created some ‘particles’ to use as a background. Now, that

might work...

s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alembas e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alemba

s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alembas e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alemba

s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alemba alembas e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alemba_ _ _ _ _ _

s e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alembas e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alembas e r v i c e m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e

alemba

17

The Big BangA new brand is born

October, 2015

And there it was. An explosion of colour in space. Dynamic, striking, full of life — and beautiful.

They can be fashioned into any shape required, coloured

however we want them — they can even be animated with

relative ease.

Surely these ‘alchemy particles’ could be used as the basis of

the new logo? Worth a try... (Andrew’s sanity was at stake.)

19

From a small seed...One logo, 1,000,000,000 possibilities

November, 2015

The particles are generated using a ‘number seed’ — a billion combinations are possible. Great! Now to find the best one...

Finding just the right combination took a long, long time.

Changing the seed, the number of orbs, the flow rate, the

angle. Some would look great but not all the Alemba colours

would be represented. Others might be too blurred, or not

enough. Randomly generating a logo is harder than it sounds.

Finally, the perfect one was found. Well, almost perfect.

One tweak from Tom — “swap those colours around” — and

that was that.

The new Alemba brand was born.

21

Back to the futureOver to you...

May 31, 2016

After 13 months of development, Alemba’s new brand is ready for the world to see.

It’s a brand we can be proud of. It’s modern, yet links to

Alemba’s history. It’s dynamic, but structured. It’s quirky, with

professionalism.

The orbs embody everything it means to be at Alemba: a

diverse mix of people working together, creating something

great. And, of course, it looks cool.

The energy of the brand will enthuse customers, old and new.

Now go tell them about it.

Simon Nugent

Carolyn Jones

Tom Bailey

Andrew Till

Mita Morris

Elzette Wilkinson Rebecca Lennon

Y O U R P E R S O N A L L O G O

23