Monday Morning Impact – January 23

Job Gains for IT in December

Employment in the U.S. IT sector ended 2016 on a positive note, adding 5,100 new positions, according to the CompTIA, a suburban Chicago-based trade association.

According to CompTIA’s IT Employment Tracker, software and technology services led December job growth among technology categories, adding 4,100 new positions.

“During 2016, IT services added an estimated 79,300 jobs, making it the primary driver of job growth in the sector,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA.

Employment in other information services, including search portals, expanded by 2,400 positions in December, according to CompTIA’s analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report. Data processing, hosting and related services added 1,600 jobs.

Telecommunications shed 2,100 jobs last month. For the year, telecom employment fell by 24,100 positions. Computer and electronics products manufacturing employment also declined in December, down 900 jobs from the previous month.

The second component of the nation’s IT workforce – IT occupations across all other industries – had another strong showing in December, with an estimated net gain of 154,000 jobs.

Channel Impact^®
It’s always reassuring to see data with numbers moving in the right direction!

CenturyLink acquires Seal Consulting

CenturyLink, Inc. of Monroe, LA has acquired SEAL Consulting, Inc., a New Jersey-based SAP solutions provider with vertical emphasis in manufacturing, retail and consumer products.

“We are excited to continue enhancing CenturyLink’s IT Solutions and SAP capabilities through the addition of Seal Consulting,” said Girish Varma, president of global IT services and new market development at CenturyLink. “This acquisition significantly expands our existing integrated SAP solutions, leveraging our hosting and cloud infrastructures to add broader SAP implementation and application managed services capabilities to our portfolio. The acquisition also gives us deeper expertise in several additional industry verticals.”

CenturyLink is a global premium supplier partner with SAP, offering services for SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud.

“SEAL’s mission has always been to keep clients ahead in fast-changing environments by offering services ranging from implementations to post-implementation support and outsourcing,” said Badal Patel, president and CEO, SEAL Consulting. “Our new home at CenturyLink enables us to continue executing on this vision and is exciting for our customers, partners and employees.”

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Channel Impact^®
This acquisition further enhances CenturyLink’s application transformation capabilities and expands the company’s position in the SAP ecosystem.

Insight Closes Acquisition of Datalink

Insight, a Tempe, AZ-based solution provider has completed its acquisition of Datalink Corporation, an IT services and enterprise data center solutions provider based in Eden Prairie, Minn.

“We are excited about the potential of this attractive combination,” said Ken Lamneck, CEO of Insight. “Together, we are well positioned to compete, grow, and win with comprehensive data center solutions in the marketplace.”

The Company expects the Datalink business to contribute between $600 – $620 million in net sales.

Channel Impact^®
The business acquisition offers the potential to increase Insight’s addressable market opportunity in hybrid cloud and other high-growth data center categories, as well as drive scale and strengthen a solutions-led sales approach.