Help us quickly design the logo that will change an industry!

openQloud, powered by SYNAQ

SYNAQ is a pioneering technology company situated in South Africa that develops email services and solutions for small to medium sized businesses in Africa. Our solutions are all delivered via "the-cloud". Meaning that we've invested in all the technical stuff (the hardware, the software, the people, the systems, etc) so that our customers can get all the good stuff (spam free email, email archiving, email collaboration and more) without having to worry about the technicalities behind it or the cost.

We are a young company passionate about what we do and changing the world in our own small way. Our company mantra is "reducing the barriers to technology" and we're passionate about making technology simpler, more affordable and more accessible for our customers.

We are about to launch a new initiative that we believe will revolutionise the industry and want to create a logo / brand that will become synonymous with this revolution.

In Africa, bandwidth is extremely expensive and is the major inhibitor preventing companies from embracing cloud computing. We want to break this barrier by giving our customers free, unlimited bandwidth (Internet access) to our cloud services. i.e. they wont pay for any of the bandwidth that they use to access our email services. This is what we call "openQloud" unlimited high-speed access to the cloud, at zero cost.

more at http://www.synaq.com

The target audience for this campaign are IT Managers, Financial Directors and Managing Directors of small to medium sized businesses (50 to 500 people) that are interested in moving their email systems to the cloud but have always been hesitant to do so because of the perceived bandwidth related costs and speeds in doing so.

They are generally male and between the ages of 28 and 45. English speaking. Are normally not too technical but understand enough about technology and the latest buzz words (like cloud computing). Are in charge of the IT department within their company and have limited technical resources available to them at the company which they represent.

What they are looking for is an affordable hassle-free way to solve their email problems with the peace of mind that everything is taken care of by a focused and reputable provider so they can focus on their core business and not have to worry about email.

Therefore the brand image that needs to be portrayed by the openQloud logo is one of a highly innovative company but one that is serious about the reliability, affordability and professionalism of the solution being offered.

The openQloud logo also has to depict what the service is doing, essentially opening up the cloud providing our customers with high speed free access to our cloud services.

We're looking for a logo that we can build a brand with. Something that can immediately depict to our potential customers what openQloud is about - that we're here to remove the barriers to technology for our customers and revolutionise their accessibility to the cloud, for free - while showing that we are a professional, reputable and reliable company. The logo will be used on all marketing collateral, a dedicated openqloud.co.za website (Still to be built) and in the media.

To deliver the free cloud service, we have formed a joint venture with a market leader in internet connectivity, a company called VoxDatapro (http://www.voxdatapro.co.za). They have launched a product called Fishbone (http://www.voxdatapro.co.za/fishbone/default.asp).
Fishbone allows companies to take multiple ADSL lines and combine them into one single pipe providing high speed internet access. The solution is extremely effective however very costly. Through our openQloud offer, customers can get the benefits of Fishbone but at zero cost - simply by signing up for any of our email services.
In financial terms they will be saving approximately 60% of what they would normally spend for a Fishbone, while getting the benefits of our email services.

The logo must also state, powered by SYNAQ.
I.e. openQloud, powered by SYNAQ so that the companies brand is strongly associated with the openQloud campaign.