Two little letters - "u" and "s," which together spell "us" - have constituted the second syllable in Plexus Systems Inc.'s company name for 14 years. Now, the maker of on-demand ERP and MES software has dropped "us" and emerges in 2009 under a new name, Plex Systems, Inc. The name change is also reflected in its flagship software-as-a-service (SaaS) product, now dubbed Plex Online. Why, oh why?
The company has come up with some clever explanations, such as "Plex is a suffix used in mathematics to denote '10 to the power of X,' such as googolplex, and it suggests the level of power that Plex Online puts in the hands of its users." But that's techno-babble meets market-speak.
The real reason for the name change is a desire to differentiate between "us" and "them" - them being two other companies with the Plexus moniker that also happen to cater to the manufacturing industry.
"Part of the change is to reduce the confusion," concedes Mark Symonds, Plex Systems' president and CEO. "We think it is simpler, it is unique, and it will play in multiple geographies ... as a unique brand."