History

On one beautiful autumn day in 2002, beneath the eves of a quaint Tudor house, Aluminati was born.

Actually that's not quite true...

Aluminati didn't exist until November 2003. Prior to then the company had been set up to support ultra-niche website PidgeMe.com. Here's how it all started...

The Quintessential Start Up

PidgeMe launched as the unofficial alumni email service for graduates of the University of Oxford. Conceived amidst the trauma of losing his student email account, Daniel Watts - the company's founder and Managing Director - with the blessing of the OUCS, created the first alumni email service that survives to this day.

Like so many start-ups, PidgeMe was launched by one person, working 20 hour days, from a bedroom. But unlike so many start-ups, the necessary technology was developed over the next few months from internet cafes around North America, as Daniel completed his post-university gap year backpacking whilst running his fledgling business.

Proving the Concept

Returning in the spring, Daniel undertook further travel to work on a viable marketing strategy with friend and colleague Robert Collis (MA Oxon. Classics, Trinity College). Using a guerilla strategy, they stretched their initial £500 marketing budget to cover every busy thoroughfare in Oxford. By the end of the summer term, PidgeMe had 1500 new members, the business took off, and Aluminati Network Group Ltd was formally incorporated. A star was born...

The following year, a sister service - CantabGOLD.net - was launched at Cambridge to provide users of the existing forwarding-only Cantab.net service a way to 'host' their address in a proper email account. Similarly successful, this encouraged the team to approach other universities on an official basis, leading to pilot services at three more universities being met with cautious interest!

Growing by Going "Official"

After operating independently for two years, in the spring of 2005 Aluminati signed its first official partnership contract with UCL. This was followed by contracts at Manchester Metropolitan Business School, Oxford Brookes University and the company's first independent school client, Haileybury and Imperial Services College. Aluminati's membership had now grown to more than 20,000 alumni.

In 2006 discussions opened with the University of Cambridge which had become interested in Aluminati's success with CantabGOLD. After a particularly thorough audit and negotiation process, the company signed a contract with the university in 2008, extending the existing Cantab.net service on to the Aluminati platform. As part of the process, the company successfully migrated over 30,000 accounts to their servers.

Advised of the positive changes to the Cantab.net service, Cambridge colleges started to show interest in running their own email services. Aluminati helped navigate the delicate relationship between university and college by creating the "Cantab for Colleges" scheme, which enabled individual colleges to launch their own branded services within the Cantab.net framework.

Aluminati added the Universities of York and Edinburgh in quick succession during the summer of 2010, bringing total membership to over 80,000 alumni.

Diversification and Future Projects

Whilst the Aluminati flagship product remains its highly effective "Email-for-Life" product, as online service specialists the company has often been asked to provide other solutions. As a result, Aluminati has since launched "Online Communities" - ranging from simple 'directories' to complex and powerful careers networks. A recent project has also involved accessing the massive presence of online social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to ascertain the powerful influence they have over alumni.

Bursting with technical talent, Aluminati continues to provide B2B services in the form of website design and development, and has launched everything from bespoke corporate identity websites to high-profile eCommerce solutions.

International Trade Division

Aluminati launched its international trade division in 2007, making full use of the strong links with East Asia brought to the team by its senior director, Derek Watts. Initially a side project, this division has grown to be a highly successful manufacturing and import operation, supplying homeware brands - such as Punch and Dylon - to supermarkets including Tesco and Carrefour in the UK and throughout Europe. With experts on the ground in Shanghai, the company is able to source from the best suppliers and perform stringent quality control procedures to ensure that the products ordered precisely match the specifications agreed.