Do you plan on being a sole-proprietor (a one person operation) for a while, or do you plan on expanding, hiring employees and maybe eventually selling the business?
A consulting firm is a bit different than a company that produces a product or resells products. Consulting businesses, especially start-ups, rely on personal integrity, reputation and referrals far less than they rely on name recognition.
Using myself an example, I decided to use my name in my business; JD Thompson Media. I don't plan on hiring full-time employees, but even if I did, it's clear to my clients that I'm the one who is ultimately responsible for the work we do. But even some of the larger consulting firms use the founders' names; Robert Half International, McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Arthur Andersen (now Accenture) and so on.
In the internet security field, trust is everything. It's probably no coincidence that the two most popular anti-virus software makers, McAfee and Norton, build on the reputaitons of someone's name.
A short techie name might be fine, but I think it's more likely to get you confused with a chip manufacturer or any of the thousands of other little technology companies. Think "Initech" from the movie Office Space.
If you do go with something short and catchy, I'm more drawn to names that are a bit more unique and either reflect your personality, or alludes to the services you offer. For example, I've always liked the name of cryptographer Bruce Schnier's firm; Counterpane Internet Security. It just happens that a "counterpane" is another name for a quilt. In other words, a variety of components artfully meshed together to keep you covered. Nice!
Another consideration these days is the domain name. You can come up with the most brilliant, unique business name, but if you can't secure an appropriate domain for it, you're somewhat out of luck. Or you're stuck with a long, unweildy domain when short domains are almost always preferable.
I hope this helps.
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by: top_rungPosted on 2009-07-05 at 12:20:36ID: 24781004
Company names - quick ideas...
1. Secon (obvious merge of security + consulting)
2. TekSek Consulting services (again, technology and security)
3. Vaultek (Vault + technology)
Hope this helps get the wheels moving...