Monday Morning Impact – January 23

CompTIA: Tech employment Stays Course

Technology employment continues to hold steady to begin the new year, according to analysis of the latest labor market day by CompTIA, a nonprofit IT association based in suburban Chicago. Technology companies added 17,600 workers in December, with job gains recorded in four of five sector categories, according to the association’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

It was the 25th straight month of net employment growth in the tech industry.

Employers throughout the economy added an estimated 130,000 tech workers in December, helping to drive down the tech occupations unemployment rate to 1.8%, compared to the overall national rate of 3.5%.

Job postings for future tech hiring declined for the second consecutive month, but still totaled more than 246,000 in December. Positions for software developers and engineers accounted for nearly 30% of last month’s jobs postings. IT support specialists, IT project managers, systems engineers and network engineers were also in demand.

“Another wave of positive tech employment data speaks to the many moving parts of a complex labor market,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA. “Despite the layoffs there continues to be more employers hiring tech talent than shedding it.”

Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas led the list of metro markets with the highest volumes of tech jobs postings. Among industry sectors, professional, scientific, and technical services (38,654), finance and insurance (33,538) and manufacturing (26,763) reported the most activity. CompTIA’s analysis also shows that 30% of all tech jobs postings are for positions in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, or in roles requiring emerging tech skills.

Channel Impact^®
The report shows welcome data at a time when layoffs are dominating the headlines.

Bridgepointe Technologies Acquires PPT Solutions in CX Play

Bridgepointe Technologies, a San Mateo, California-based tech advisory firm serving mid-market and enterprise companies, has announced its acquisition of PPT Solutions, a provider of Customer Experience (CX) and Contact Center consulting solutions. The agreement marks an opportunity for Bridgepointe to expand its technology advisory services and provide clients with a wide range of CX-related services including CX/contact center consulting, Contact Center Technologies, BPO (Business Process/ People Outsourcing), AI/RPA (Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation), and Managed Services.

“PPT Solutions is the true leader when it comes to CX consulting services, and we’re thrilled to have them join the Bridgepointe family,” explained Scott Evars, Bridgepointe’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “PPT is a natural fit with Bridgepointe’s existing services and their focus on accelerating client success is tightly aligned with our culture, vision and values.”

PPT Solutions will operate as a “Bridgepointe company” effective immediately.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Channel Impact^®
The move is expected to strengthen Bridgepointe’s position in the CX space, as well as further extend its national reach.

Frank Rauch to serve as Global Channel Chief of CCato Networks

Industry veteran Frank Rauch, most recently of Checkpoint Software, has agreed to join Cato Networks as the Tel Aviv-based networking and security company’s new Global Channel Chief.

As Global Channel Chief, Frank will be responsible for driving the channel ecosystem globally. With more than 30 years of leadership experience, Frank has successfully led, developed, managed, and grown global partner ecosystems at Check Point, VMware, and HPE. He has also led field sales, inside sales and strategy organizations. He and his teams have been recognized with over 150 channel awards, and he has been personally recognized with 17 CRN Channel Chiefs awards, Lifetime Achievement award, and has been ranked consistently in the 50 Most Influential Executives.

“The cloud is the enterprise’s present and future; appliances are its past,” said Rauch. “Forward-thinking channel partners know their future lies in the cloud, but they need the right platform and technology partner to profit from the cloud.”

“I’m excited to welcome Frank to the Cato team,” said Alon Alter, Chief Revenue Officer of Cato Networks. “SASE is the future of enterprise networking and security. With the Cato SASE Cloud, partners can get to market quickly with new reoccurring revenue streams, delivering differentiated converged enterprise networking and security capabilities and value-added support services.”

Cato Networks has also recently hired Robert Holley as the AVP for VAR, Resellers, and Service Providers, Americas. Shane Hallen has joined Cato as Director of Service Provider Sales, Americas; and Paolo Maestripie has joined the company as Director of Service Provider Sales, EMEA.

Rounding out the leadership changes, Cato veterans, Ron Hamlett and Mark Draper have been promoted to AVP for Channel Sales Americas and EMEA, respectively.

Channel Impact^®
As SASE and SSE have gained traction among enterprises, Cato has seen increased interest from service providers and other channel partners. Expansion of the channel leadership team is expected to help augment those alliances.