Conveying our longstanding focus with a new name: Keysight Technologies

By now, you’ve probably heard that Agilent Technologies is spinning off its electronic measurement business as a standalone company. On January 7, 2014, we announced the name of this company: Keysight Technologies.

Between now and November 2014, when we become an independent operation, numerous changes will happen behind the scenes, and some will occur in public for all to see. Even so, the French saying “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” comes to mind: “The more it changes, the more it stays the same.” While the spinoff and new name signify important and positive changes for us within the company, little will change for our customers.

That’s an easy promise to make, and it may raise a few questions in your mind. In the paragraphs that follow, I’ll focus on providing some answers: the meaning embedded in the new name, the key things that will remain the same, two positive elements that will be different, and evidence of our ongoing commitment to customer success.

Giving meaning to the name

As you may know, the process of creating a name can be quite difficult. Although we experienced a few resets along the way, we kept at it until we had a name that clearly reflected the value we strive to deliver to our customers.

The meaning embedded in Keysight comes from two English words: “key” and “insight.” On its own, “key” has two relevant meanings: indispensable or essential, and a means of access. Next, “insight” is the power of seeing as well as possessing vision and perception. When combined as Keysight, this coined word connotes the ability to offer essential insights that help our customers understand and unlock the changing technology landscapes they face.

Our corporate signature includes two more elements that help tell the story: the tagline and the logo. As shown in the figure, our tagline is “Unlocking measurement insights for 75 years.” The first half reinforces the meaning embedded in the name, as described above. The second half acknowledges our rich heritage, which reaches back to 1939 when Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started the test-equipment company—Hewlett-Packard—that became Agilent in 1999 and will become Keysight later in 2014. The logo, in Keysight Red, is a stylized waveform that represents our focus on electronic measurements.

Taken together, these elements pay homage to our legacy and signify our ongoing commitment to customers. The name, logo, tagline and typography are also intended to capture the spirit of an organization that will be innovative, insightful and forward-looking.

Emphasizing the constants, acknowledging two key differences

As noted above, many things will remain the same once we begin doing business as Keysight. Foremost, we will still be the technology leader in electronic measurements. We will also continue to be #1 in three major market areas: communications (i.e., the wireless data ecosystem); aerospace and defense; and industrial, semiconductors and computers.

Our product portfolios and roadmaps will remain the same, and we will retain our wealth of intellectual property, patents and proprietary ASIC designs. In that same vein, our Measurement Research Labs, which separated from Agilent Labs in 2010, will continue to explore the frontiers of test. Finally, we will have the same global footprint with the largest sales and support team among test and measurement vendors. On the local front, in Canada, we will continue to operate our two repair and calibration centers located in Mississauga and Montreal. We will also keep our sales and support offices in Ottawa, Montreal and Mississisauga. The local resources that you have been working with will be the same.

There will be two important differences, but both are exceedingly positive. First, the entire company will be 100 percent focused on electronic measurements and the success of our customers. Second, that clear focus ensures that the top opportunities in electronic measurements will also be the top priorities for the company.

Reaffirming our commitment to customers

Stating the obvious, our ongoing success depends on the success of our customers—and their success comes from the ability to dependably unlock new insights. To help Keysight customers open those doors, we’re focusing all of our energy and experience on what comes next in test and measurement. Our vision is simple: we want to help Keysight end-users find the right idea at the right time and thereby enable them to bring a new generation of technologies into the world.

It’s important to remember that we are a company built on a history of firsts, dating back to the days of Hewlett and Packard working in the garage on Addison Street in Palo Alto, California. Our firsts began with U.S. patent number 2,268,872 for a “variable-frequency oscillation generator.”

Appropriately, the heart of Bill Hewlett’s design was a light bulb, which is often used to symbolize a new idea. In this case, the light bulb served as a temperature-dependent resistor in the feedback loop of a Wien-bridge oscillator. It was the first of countless ideas—elegant, effective and innovative—that have blossomed in the minds of our R&D engineers.

Looking ahead

For us, the torch is being passed once again: first from HP to Agilent and next from Agilent to Keysight. Continuing our 75-year legacy, our goal is to spark a new generation of insights and “Eureka!” moments.

Those of us who will be part of Keysight are energized by the opportunity to focus on our passion for electronic measurements. We derive the greatest satisfaction when that passion translates into new insights, new discoveries and new breakthroughs for our customers. We look forward to helping them unlock their next measurement insights.