The Process of Rebranding the Beeks Portal
We wanted to focus the second article of our technology blog on some of the user interface design work that we do at Beeks. The Beeks Portal is the web-based user interface which clients use to manage their infrastructure which Beeks hosts for them. It allows them to self-service their compute in colo: from power cycling servers to redeploying operating systems to scaling up additional virtual machines. The portal is one of the many ways in which Beeks simplifies the challenges of co-located compute and connectivity for capital markets.
Introduction
In early 2023 Beeks decided to offer Portal as a private labelled product to our customers allowing them to rebrand elements of the user-interface to fit with their own brands. Up until then, client customisation had been minimal. Beeks’ own brand was used throughout Portal. This article delves into the motivations behind the decision to introduce the option of rebranding and provides a comprehensive overview of the implementation process it entailed.
What is Private Labelling?
Private labelled software offers unparalleled customisation, enabling clients to seamlessly rebrand it with their own unique identity. Typically available through subscription models, this approach grants customers the rights to utilise and tailor the front-end components of the software. Private labelling permits clients to incorporate their distinctive branding elements, thereby allowing them to present the software to end-users as a natural extension of their own brand.
Why Private Label with Beeks?
When the need arises for software to fulfil specific client requirements, an organisation has the option of either developing an entirely new product or identifying an existing solution that can be rebranded as its own.
Purchasing software from a vendor such as Beeks means you can reduce costs and achieve more rapid time to market. You can also reduce maintenance costs as well as the need for hiring new developers, infrastructure, and security.
For technology vendors working in the capital markets, private labelling the Beeks portal allows them to offer their clients control of the infrastructure underlying their applications.
For stock exchanges or other trading platforms, private labelling the Beeks Portal makes connecting to the exchange easier and quicker, and reduces the number of vendors that someone trading on the exchange needs to deal with in order to get connected.
How We Private Labelled Portal
Identify Page Elements
The first stage in the process was to identify the individual page elements which required customisation in order to move away from the Beeks colour scheme. We determined that the following elements would need to be customisable for each customer brand:
- logo
- favicon
- button colours
- email addresses used for contacting technical support
- URLs for Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
Portal uses a language file which contains most of the application’s UI text. We identified elements in the language file which would need updating including many instances of the name “Beeks” which needed removing.
Language file examples:
Beeks Colour Palette
Portal was originally designed using Beeks’ own brand colours. The Beeks colour palette features some strong, vibrant colours but these were not compatible with our clients’ own branding.
The key was to design a colour scheme which would work for all of our clients’ brands irrespective of the clients’ colours. For example, some of our customers use green as their primary brand colour while another customer uses purple — the new colour palette had to be compatible with all brands. It also had to be able to work with all potential future clients’ brands.
Introduce a Neutral Colour Scheme
To ensure the new colour scheme wouldn’t clash with our customers’ brands, we opted for a neutral grey, black and white palette which is easy on the eye and compatible with all potential colour schemes.
We incorporated each client’s primary brand colour on specific page elements to make them stand out and draw the user’s attention. We also introduced a secondary colour which would be a lighter version of the primary brand colour, used for things such as highlighting page elements on hover.
Example usage:
Examples
Below are some examples of the Portal pages before and after the rebranding process. The before pages feature Beeks’ original branding and the after pages showcase the corresponding redesigned neutral versions. Furthermore, there are examples of clients’ brands in use.
Portal Login Page
The original login page design utilised Beeks’ three main brand colours and the company logo. On the rebranded version, the only page element that requires a colour change is the Log In button.
Analytics Page
As well using the Beeks’ brand colours, the Analytics page also featured a set of strong greens and blues for the various metrics on display. These colours were problematic for clashing with clients’ brands and were therefore removed during rebranding.
Rack Elevation Page
The Rack Elevation page uses some additional desaturated blue colours. Again, these colours were chosen for their ability to be used by all client brands.
Conclusion
Most of our customers still use the Beeks brand, but the ability to offer their own branding has been a key enabler for some of our customers, in particular for clients taking the Exchange Cloud version of our product.
While rebranding, we incorporated many design improvements into the Portal UI. Our product is now more appealing to our existing customers while also being more attractive to potential new customers.
As well as being able to offer our clients the option to rebrand our application, we have successfully achieved a user interface that exudes a cleaner, more contemporary aesthetic, while simultaneously enhancing its usability.
