Frequently Asked Questions

Syllog is the root of the word Syllogism, which is a deductive form or reasoning that is used to arrive at a conclusion. Tim  wanted a cool name for his company that reflected logical thinking. Applying deductive reasoning to come to a logical conclusion is what computer programming is all about. 

Originally it was supposed to be pronounced like it is in the word Syllogism. "Cilog", with a soft "i" but everybody kept pronouncing it "SIlog" with a long "I"  sounds like "sigh log". 

At a conference somebody Tim admired said "What is this "silly logic, what kind of name is that??".

That kind of sealed the fate of the original pronunciation.

An interesting footnote is that in the early days we were sometimes confused with the microprocessor company Zilog, inventors of the very popular early microprocessor the Z80. Tim even got some cease and desist letters from their legal department, but by that time we had the registered trademark. 

Its not related to those hacks at IBM at all, we would have sold them the URL for $1MM but they never asked. 

Originally Syllog was a vehicle for Tim's consulting work first with AT&T Bell Labs, and later with the UK consulting company Logica.

While at Logica Tim worked on the IFTS project which built a huge SWIFT/Fedwire/CHIPS funds transfer system that ran on Stratus based computers running the VOS operating system.

Tim wrote and sold a fax transmission system that ran on Stratus under the name "SFAX" under the Syllog banner in the 1990s. 

In the early 2000s Tim and a partner David Finkelstein created the Syllog SWIFT Service Bureau that ran on Stratus based systems. This service bureau was eventually sold to Brown Brothers Harriman and Tim and David went to work there.

At the end of his lock-up period Tim left and went to become an equity partner in the Information Technology Managed Services firm Generic Network Systems where he still works.