The Start

Our business started as part of the ComputerLand franchise store chain in 1980. Our founder, Melvin “Bud” Pickens, saw the opportunity that personal computing offered and knew that it wasn’t a passing trend. As a result, he purchased the franchise and established two locations because the small towns of Longview and Tyler had no dedicated supplier of computer equipment and servers. The stores were retail establishments with storefronts and were primarily focused on retail sales to the public. Keith Bailey and Dave Pickens managed the operation of the stores while Bud acted as president and CEO.

Always alert for trends in the computer business, the forward-thinking trio noticed that many area businesses, school districts, and governmental agencies were converting paper-based business practices to computer-based systems. Some larger area businesses such as Trane, now American Standard, were acquiring computer systems for their operations but were met with the challenge of training people to use them. Hiring a full-time staff to train employees on the new systems wasn’t something the corporations were willing to do. In response to this challenge, Keith, Dave, and Bud hired a trainer who specialized in training the area businesses to use their new computers and applications. ComputerLand expanded its operation to include full-service training centers with state of the art equipment.

As they moved forward in this new field, they encountered many challenges. Every challenge was treated as an opportunity for expansion of services and offerings. For example, there were repair challenges, so they hired technicians to service the systems. They established a warranty service repair center so customers wouldn’t have to ship their machines off to the factory for repair. An agile ComputerLand management added additional services and personnel, as customer needs changing and expanded.

Another major development in enterprise computing was networking systems together with servers for centralized data storage coupled with the advent of email. At the same time, ComputerLand leadership decided that helping area businesses, schools and governments with their needs as their primary goal, so they transitioned from retail stores and invested in systems engineering personnel to match the industry trends. They hired and trained engineers specializing in both the Novell operating system and the new Microsoft operating systems that their customers were using.

Bud Pickens was active in the company until his passing. Dave and Keith purchased the locations they managed and continued the trend of adding new solutions, services and quality staff to their growing business. To keep ComputerLand at the forefront of technological advancements, the pair added phone systems, business continuity planning, audio visual equipment, technology planning, network cabling and project management. ComputerLand began managing many of their customer’s networks so the customers could concentrate on their primary business goals. They also expanded their customer base to different types of customers such as financial, manufacturing and healthcare.

Reflecting their dedication to area organizations, they changed their name to Cynergy Technology and are the premier technology services company in East Texas. With almost 50 professionals in technical, sales and administrative fields, they keep many of East Texas’ leading independent school districts, cities and counties, 911 and police departments, and independent businesses up and running.