Imagine being tasked with giving a suite of enterprise software a complete makeover. Not just a lick of paint, but a full-blown rebrand. That was my challenge when Kana, where I was working, got snapped up by Verint. We had to transform their CRM, knowledge management, and web self-service platforms, all while keeping them running smoothly. It was a bit like changing the engine on a plane mid-flight.
Situation – The Branding Overhaul
Verint had just acquired Kana, and we needed to ditch the old branding and bring everything in line with Verint’s visual identity. We’re talking three complex SaaS platforms, each with its own quirks and complexities. It wasn’t just about changing colours and logos; it was about making them feel like they belonged to the Verint family.
Task – The Digital Rebranding Mission
My task was to make these platforms look and feel like Verint products, and to do it in a way that wouldn’t cause chaos for our users. I had to work closely with business analysts, project managers, and developers, ensuring everyone was on the same page. We needed to design new screens, implement the new branding, and, crucially, find a way to make future theming easier. We were thinking long-term, not just a quick fix.
Action – The Sass Solution
We started by wireframing the new screens in Balsamiq, which was integrated with our Confluence Collaboration Tool. It was a great way to collaborate and keep everyone in the loop. Once the designs were signed off, I dived into the CSS.
Now, this wasn’t your average CSS job. The CRM platform alone had over 90 stylesheets! It was a beast. We had to concatenate them into a manageable number, just to get the browser to load them without throwing a hissy fit.
But the real game-changer was using a CSS preprocessor. I explored Sass and Less, and settled on Sass. It allowed us to use variables, which was a godsend. We centralised all the colour variables into a single stylesheet, making it a doddle to change them across the entire platform. It was a bit like organising a chaotic wardrobe into colour-coded sections.
This wasn’t just about making things look pretty; it was about making them future-proof. We wanted to make it easier to re-theme the platforms for white-label clients, saving us time and effort in the long run.
Result – The Speedy Rebrand
The rebrand was a success. The platforms looked and felt like Verint products, and, crucially, the new theming system worked a treat. We slashed the time it took to create white-label versions from two or three weeks to just a few hours or days. It was a proper time-saver, a real win for the team.
It was a reminder that sometimes, a bit of forward-thinking and a clever use of technology can make a huge difference. And in our case, that difference was measured in weeks saved and a lot less stress.
If you’re interested in learning more about this project, or how we used Sass to tame a CRM beast, just give me a shout.
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