The Name Game

The computer industry is littered with companies that go by vague, “concept” names. The Orange County roster, for instance, includes Pinnacle, Platinum and Printrak, Cerplex and Compex, NetSoft and Sunsoft.

That is why it was not surprising, although some might say disappointing, that one local company with a rather colorful name--American Turnkey--suddenly decided to start calling itself Optum Software.

The original name said a lot about the history of the company, which was founded 16 years ago by a Russian immigrant named Boris Reznik, who is still chief executive. Reznik wanted “American” in the name because he loved his new country, said John Davies, senior vice president.

And Turnkey carried a special meaning too, a sense that “you would turn the key and everything would be operating, that we could take care of everything,” Davies said.

But since the company, which makes software used to track warehouse inventories, has started selling its products internationally, “American” no longer applies.

And executives decided the focus of the company was less about tracking boxes and more about “optimizing information flow,” Davies said, so “Optum” seemed logical.

Davies acknowledged that some might consider Optum more mundane. “We struggled with it,” he said. “But the message is what’s important.”

Don’t count on a change of heart. The Optum name is already spelled in giant letters across the side of the company’s new, 50,000-square-foot headquarters in Costa Mesa.