Is it time to say good bye to the brand Satyam?

Recently, I read an article about merger of Satyam and Tech Mahindra into single entity in Economic Times (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-30/news/31260991_1_tech-mahindra-mahindra-satyam-sanjay-kalra-vineet-nayyar).         I am not going to talk about whether the merger is right or wrong. I am going to discuss, whether the name Satyam can be retained or not. Many discussions are going in the board room of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam; I hope this issue will be one among them.

If they would not bring a new brand name for this merger, then it would be an incomplete exercise, as both are having different segments of customers. I believe the brand name Satyam is too elusive. I think they should come with a fresh brand name along with the brand Mahindra.

Let me give you a quick glimpse about the Tech Mahindra, Mahindra Satyam and their acquisition.

Tech Mahindra was formally known as Mahindra British Telecom, joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra and British Telecom. In 1986, they rebranded into Tech Mahindra. They provide services to the telecom sector.

Mahindra Satyam was formally known as Satyam Computer services, founded in the year 1986 in Hyderabad by Ramalinga Raju. They are well known for enterprise services.

Tech Mahindra had acquired Satyam Computer services in 2009 after the scam and rebranded into Mahindra Satyam. The current rebranding exercise is the second time for both the brands.

The word Satyam means Truth; there is no point in telling Satyam again after the scam. Even though it is a globally known brand, it should be avoided.

The total revenue of Satyam in 2008 was Rs.8, 473.49 crores, but in 2011 it was Rs.5, 145 crores. This shows, brand Satyam didn’t help to fetch revenue and attract more customers after 2009. Even in future, it won’t help. Mahindra has great credibility than Satyam to attract customers across the world.

 It is not like biscuit or soap; this is purely B2B business, and they can easily create awareness and can do good business if they would come with a new brand name.

This case is not like the iGATE acquisition of Patni, and named as iGATE PATNI. There is no point in comparing this branding exercise with IGATE PATNI.

If Mahindra will stick with the brand Satyam in future, the investors and customers will never forget the scam.  Even no employee would like to work in a company which involved in scam; they might feel dishonoured to say “I am an employee of Satyam”. If customers, employees and investors want to forget the scam, Mahindra should first forget the brand Satyam.

Even I feel that Mahindra Satyam was not a right choice of brand name to get back the interest of investors and customers when they acquired. Since Mahindra is doing different business, it will dilute the credibility of Mahindra. I think this is a chance for Mahindra to forget Satyam and come with a new brand to maintain their credibility.