Kyndryl is the new name for IBM’s managed infrastructure business, which the company plans to spin off into an independent venture by the end of 2021.

The name Kyndryl is a portmanteau of sorts, “kyn” being derived from kinship and “dryl” from tendril.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna announced the company would ditch its lagging infrastructure business in October 2020 and refocus Big Blue’s efforts on becoming a hybrid-cloud powerhouse. At the time, Krishna spun the move as an opportunity for both businesses — IBM and Kyndryl — to reverse declining revenues.

The new company will be headquartered in New York City and led by CEO Martin Schroeter.

"Kyndryl evokes the spirit of true partnership and growth," he said in a statement. "Customers around the world will come to know Kyndryl as a brand that runs the vital systems at the heart of progress, and an independent company with the best global talent in the industry."

While Kyndryl may be a new name in the infrastructure market, the company itself is already a significant player with more than 4,600 existing clients and a backlog of $60 billion in revenues.

“Our vision is to be the leading company that designs, runs, and modernizes the critical technology infrastructure of the world's most important businesses and institutions, ultimately powering human progress,” Kyndryl CMO Maria Bartolome Winans said in a statement.

Kyndryl will continue to offer a variety of hosting and network services, infrastructure modernization, services management, and multicloud management and migration. Additionally, cutting ties with IBM may allow the company to gain market share and win contracts from what are now IBM’s hybrid cloud rivals.