Meet Kyndryl – which, despite its name, is not a new legendary Pokémon or a futuristic fake pharmaceutical product Cyberpunk 2077. No, Kyndryl is the new name for IBM’s legacy IT infrastructure business, which is developing the company into a new enterprise so that the main enterprise can focus on its newer (and more profitable) focus areas, such as AI and cloud services.
Let me explain IBM’s press release:
‘Kyn’ is derived from the word relation, referring to the belief that relationships with people – employees, customers and partners – are at the heart of the strategy, and that long-term relationships need to be built and nurtured. “Dryl” comes from rank, to keep in mind new growth and the idea that the company – together with customers and partners – is always working to promote human progress.
“Relationship” and “tendrils” – two of the first words that come to mind when considering managed infrastructure services. Of course, unless extra y’s are added, ‘y’ is presumably the letter that most conveys ‘the spirit of true partnership and growth’ that Kyndryl’s corporate IT setup stands for.
In fact, it feels like the completely bizarre brand is meant to be SEO bait. “NewCo” – the original placeholder for the branch of the company now known as Kyndryl – is the kind of name that fades into the background, while Kyndryl, however strange it may be, has no danger of being confused or lost. touching a sea of similar Google results (mostly because there are none).
“Customers around the world will get to know Kyndryl as a brand that manages the most important systems at the core of progress,” said Martin Schroeter, Kyndryl’s CEO. And with a name so … unique as the one chosen here, he’s probably right.