The Rebirth of Synergy 8

We're excited to announce that after a decade operating under the banner of Synergy 8, we are becoming Oncord. 

This article explains what the new name means to us, how we got to it, and why we decided to change the name in the first place. We'll also talk about what the change means for you. (Spoiler: Probably nothing. You'll just have to get used to saying Oncord, and seeing a new logo when you login to your account.)

The old name

When we started, the name Synergy 8 was the perfect name to represent our company. We were creating a platform with 8 main features to let you grow your business online. We combined this with 'synergy' - a word that describes the phenomenon of having different things working together to achieve a result greater than the sum of their parts. Thus: Synergy 8. We loved it, and we know a lot of you did too. 

But in the last decade our platform expanded. The 8 main features became 9, then 10, and so on and so on. The product expanded and evolved. The '8' lost it's relevance, except as a nice reminder of how far we'd come. 

At the same time the word 'synergy' was suffering its own problems. It became too popular. It became a favourite of middle-managers and lazy PR teams. The embodiment of corporate jargon. It was no longer used to describe a well-oiled machine functioning seamlessly. It started to mean the opposite.

The new name

We made the decision at the start of 2018 (that's right, 2 years ago) that a new name was needed. But we knew this wasn't something we could take lightly. The process of rebranding a company of our size is a significant undertaking. We knew we couldn't move forward till we had a name we loved. So we got to work.

First we decided we wanted to steer away from any real words. After the problems that had unfolded with the word 'synergy' we'd learned that any existing word can quickly fall out of favour. It was important the new name was something completely different. A term that had no existing meaning. Something that we could make our own.

From there we started to think about the values and concepts we embodied as a company, and which of those concepts we needed to reflect in our brand. We then took those concepts and derived abstract sounds that combined the values into a single term.

During the process the word core came up frequently. We understand that for many of you, our product is the core of your communications, your marketing strategy, and most importantly the core of your online business.

From this we got to the concept of Encore. This word really resonated with us. In our company the thing that motivates us, the high-point of our performance, is the praise we get from our customers.

A software platform like ours is expected to have a high amount of churn. A significant percentage of customers that come and go on a monthly basis. We don't. 99% of the customers we gain stay with us for life.

We don't have long-term contracts. You can leave any time. But you don't. And that means something to us. We love that. We take pride in the fact that month after month, year after year, you make the decision to have us back. To perform for you again. To build new tools and features for you. To help you. To grow with you. 

So we combined the words Encore and Online, but the final concept we wanted to include was connection. Connecting all the components of your digital presence. Connecting your brand to your customers. Connecting your messages to your marketplace. We abstracted this to the idea of a cord.

The invention of the power cord marked a leap forward in human history, allowing for the efficient distribution of electricity. Connecting electrical currents to devices and appliances. Taking dormant machines and bringing them online. Bringing inventions to life. 

At it's core, our platform is a network of features that bring the vision of your brand to life. 

Assembling these concepts we created Oncord.

Make no mistake though, getting to this name didn't come easy. It's result of many late-night meetings, brainstorming sessions, arguments, false-starts and a lot of deep introspection. 

Landing on this name was a eureka moment for us and we're so excited to share this moment with all of you, our loyal customers and supporters. Which brings us to the most important part...

Will the change affect me?

As we mentioned before, changing the name is no small feat. The name 'Synergy 8' is referenced in hundreds of thousands of places around the web to date.

Luckily we've spent the last decade assembling a dream team of highly-skilled professionals. The best of the best. And those people have worked tirelessly to make sure this transition will be seamless for you and your business. On January 1st 2020, you'll see a new logo on your login page. And that's about it. 

If you do have a question or concern about how this change might affect your site or your business, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@oncord.com.

For everyone else let us wish you a happy holiday, a fantastic new year, and hopefully another decade of mutual growth and success.

We wouldn't be where we are today without you. We embark on this new chapter remembering all our customers, friends and supporters who made  this possible.

And we'd like to assure you that the bigger we get, the more grateful we are for you all.

Love from the team at Synergy 8 Oncord