Tech services company UST in Aliso Viejo is starting the year with a streamlined new name and an eye on more acquisitions.
Gone is the old name UST Global, replaced by the simpler UST.
“We wanted to create a bold UST brand that represents our core strengths—agility and flexibility,” along with its focus on customers, CEO Krishna Sudheendra said.
Along with the new name, “you’ll see a new logo, visual identity, brand voice and brand messaging all flowing from these central themes,” Sudheendra told the Business Journal on Jan. 22.
UST provides a variety of tech services to large corporations. Its client list consists of Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies. The company, which counts deep ties to India, had more than $1.2 billion in revenue last year.
Acquisition Plans
“We are looking at expanding globally with inorganic growth of acquisitions and investments, and the continued advancement of new technologies of digital transformation, cybersecurity, automation, block chain, AI/ML and data insights,” Sudheendra said.
UST is in the final stages to acquire an end-to-end healthcare payer administration, risk adjustment and medical management platform company in the U.S., according to Sunil Kanchi, UST chief investment officer. He also recently said that the company is in the process of closing two more acquisitions which will enhance the company’s ability to support the customers in their digital transformation.
Officials said they can’t give more details of upcoming investments and acquisitions, as they are currently work in progress and at different stages pre-closure.
2020 was also a busy one on the acquisition front for the company.
The company said last August that it has invested in Bay Area-company Smart Software Testing Solutions Inc. and separately said it had made a strategic investment in Tastry, a San Luis Obispo-based company that uses high-tech to match consumers with wines, food, fragrances and other products that suit their tastes.
2021 Goals
“UST’s focus is to bring in more automation in the existing business for our clients and facilitate cost rationalization. These savings can then be reinvested into digital transformation where we can help the clients bring in new product offerings, expand their market and improve their revenue and cash flow,” CEO Sudheendra said.
Sudheendra is on the Business Journal’s 2020 OC 500 list of top local influential figures.
Company officials emphasize the role that COVID-19 has played in furthering the move to digital business functions.
“COVID has been a great accelerator in advancing digital transformation in all sectors,” according to Sudheendra.
“UST is working closely with our clients in modernizing client applications as well as help them move these applications to the cloud,” he said.
“We are adding new employees as we expand around the globe,” he said.
Rebranding
“At the heart of this rebrand is our desire to reflect the company’s evolution since day one,” said Leslie Schultz, chief marketing officer. “The time is right to modernize, streamline, and simplify our brand. We understand our clients’ needs, and together we design, chart, and engineer their path to tomorrow.”
The company has 35 offices in 25 countries and 26,000 employees worldwide.
The new global brand identity will also consolidate its key sub-brands and subsidiaries under one UST unified brand, the company said.
While rebranding may sound like a simple endeavor, Schultz makes it clear there’s plenty of work involved.
“For us, this is a truly global endeavor, and it’s a logistical challenge at times, especially given the pandemic,” she said. “We have helipads, marble etched floors, logos on islands. We’re giving ourselves a few months to swap everything over!”
