When competitive companies merge the ultimate aim is to create something bigger, and better, than the sum of their parts. To take all the elements that made those distinct brands special and combine them into something even greater. And, in this case, that intention is summed up by the name of the company that arose from the merger of design software giants Compusoft, 2020 and Virtual Worlds – Cyncly.

“It was inspired by ‘synchronisation’ and ‘simplicity’,” explains Alex Ainge, former head of Compusoft in the UK and now senior director – head of KBF retail sales (SMB and mid-market) EMEA for Cyncly. “It expresses the mission of the company, which is to be the ultimate platform for connecting designers, retailers, manufacturers, contractors, and consumers to make amazing spaces.”

Many UK users may not know just how big Cyncly now is, employing over 2,300 people, serving over 70,000 customers across more than 100 countries. It is, without doubt, a global software powerhouse. And it isn’t standing still. In September last year the combined Compusoft and 2020 added Logicom – the parent company of Virtual Worlds – to its portfolio and that’s when the name Cyncly was born.

“We recognised the massive value that Virtual Worlds could bring to the business,” Ainge explains. ”It’s the market leader in the UK bathroom sector for CAD tools and solutions, so it made sense to our business to bring them into the family. While we were competitors before, it was always clear that we were on a very similar journey and it’s been a fantastic to see just how complementary the partnership has been from day one.”

Ben Roberts is the former Virtual Worlds national corporate account manager and is now Cyncly’s director for enterprise accounts. For him, the Cyncly philosophy is about putting the customer first and everything must benefit that goal. “It’s about making sure our products serve our customers to the very best of their abilities,” he says. “They are absolutely vital to their day-to-day businesses, so combining their individual strengths gives customers a really powerful suite of solutions.

But it’s not just for design either, of course. Winner fully integrates with leading quoting and ordering system EQ, as it was also part of Compusoft. But now, under Cyncly, Virtual Worlds can do the same. “That adds huge value to our customers,” Ainge says. “Being able to use the best bathroom solution on the market with the best-in-class business management tool just makes life easier. It shows how we’re now a function-led business that puts users first.”

“For example, Virtual Worlds has done that in the bathroom industry, but we hadn’t necessarily managed to stretch into other areas. Likewise, Winner from Compusoft was the leader in the kitchen market too and now Cyncly has pulled them, and other tools, together into one place.”

And this integration of many different software solutions is a big part of Cyncly’s story – for instance 3CAD is a manufacturing solution that was brought into the UK last year – but for kitchen, bedroom and bathroom retailers and designers, the combined power of Winner for kitchens and Virtual Worlds for bathrooms is a pretty irresistible one-stop shop.

“It shows how we’re now a function-led business that puts users first”

Alex Ainge, senior director – head of KBF retail sales (SMB and mid-market) EMEA for Cyncly

So, as far as that user is concerned, are they going to see sweeping changes to the software they’re very familiar with using?

“We’re very aware that people have bought our products for specific USPs, so you’re not going to see a sudden change in how everything’s done,” Roberts says. “All the things people love about their software will not just remain but be enhanced. Behind the scenes, however, all the global expertise we have is focused on making everything run more effectively and efficiently. Our goal is to make the consumer’s journey from inspiration to purchase as smooth as possible and, for retailers, by making that path seamless we remove any points where the customer can drop off and look elsewhere.”

While, as a standalone company, Cyncly is very new, its provenance, influence, and drive for joining up solutions in this way is highly impressive. So what comes next is going to be fascinating for both clients and the wider industry.

“Our focus, first and foremost, is on our customers and we will continue to invest to create greater value for them,” Ainge says. “We will continue to explore opportunities that allow us to broaden our offering or evolve our technology to shape the future needs of the industry.”

With the level of expertise and resource now at its disposal, the potential for Cyncly is absolutely limitless and its development will have a huge impact on how the KBB sector approaches technology. But the company, and those within it, like Ainge and Roberts, intrinsically understands that the development must always start with what the user wants and needs.

And that philosophy is always a winning one.