Monday Morning Impact – March 24
CompTIA: Tech Employment Increases while other Indicators Retreat
Technology employment across the U.S. labor market grew in February while other key measurements of hiring activity fell back, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data conducted by CompTIA, a suburban Chicago-based industry organization.
According to the report, employment by tech sector companies declined by a net 11,514 positions in February. Tech services and tech manufacturing accounted for the majority of the retreat.
Meanwhile, tech employment across all industry sectors increased by an estimated 177,000 for the month. The tech unemployment rate increased to 3.3%, compared to the national rate of 4.1% for February.
Active employer job postings for core tech positions totaled nearly 490,000 in February, including 211,862 postings newly added during the month. New job postings fell back for the month, but are trending ahead of the moving three-month average. For February year-over-year, new job postings are up 15%.
“As expected, the report paints a mixed picture as labor market data catches up to market developments,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “Recent employer tech hiring and future hiring intent indicators remain steady, so a degree of reassurance.”
Employer hiring for artificial intelligence (AI) skills and dedicated job roles continues to trend upward, according to CompTIA. Active job listing referencing AI skill in some capacity more than doubled (+116%) in February compared to the same period last year, while hiring for dedicated AI job roles increased 79% for the month year-over-year.
Because of the lag in BLS tabulation of labor market data, the impact on employment of recent market developments, including federal workforce staffing changes, remains unclear. For context, CompTIA’s review BLS data indicates the Federal civilian government employed approximately 116,000 information technology workers in 2024. This figure excludes the military, the postal service and all government contractors, which in the aggregate push the total count of tech workers under the Federal government umbrella higher.
Channel Impact®
Mixed signals in latest employment data may reflect labor market anxiety.
CrowdStrike Signs Distribution Agreement for Cybersecurity Transformation with Arrow Electronics
CrowdStrike has announced a distribution agreement with Arrow Electronics, bringing the CrowdStrike Falcon cybersecurity platform to Arrow channel partners and customers across the U.S. and Canada.
Through the ArrowSphere marketplace, channel partners can procure and deploy the Falcon platform, accessing features such as flexible billing, streamlined licensing, and integration with existing IT infrastructure.
“Expanding our channel ecosystem with Arrow bolsters CrowdStrike’s partner-first strategy, equipping even more top resellers and service providers with the industry’s most advanced cybersecurity platform,” said Dan Danielli, vice president, global distribution at Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike. “Together, we look forward to leveraging the power of the Falcon platform to protect organizations of all sizes across industries from evolving threats.”
“Arrow is committed to offering best-in-class cybersecurity solutions that help organizations mitigate risk and strengthen security postures,” said Matt Brennan, vice president of supplier management for security and modern infrastructure at Arrow’s enterprise computing solutions business. “CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform provides a great option for businesses to unify their data, security and IT solutions faster, with better protection at a lower overall cost.”
The CrowdStrike Falcon platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft and telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver detections, automated protection and remediation, threat hunting and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities.
Channel Impact®
Arrow expects to enable enhanced security postures and streamlined security operations for its channel partner base across the U.S. and Canada with the CrowdStrike Falcon platform.
eSentire Rolls Out New Partner Model for MSPs and Systems Integrators
eSentire, a Waterloo, Ontario-based Managed Detection and Response (MDR) company, has launched its Atlas Nexus Network, a new partner model that allows MSPs and SIs to license and operate their own dedicated instance of the Atlas Extended Detection and Response (XDR) platform. Partners can fully integrate their own security offerings, create differentiated business models, and deploy new services, leveraging the company’s Generative AI and Agentic capabilities.
The Atlas XDR platform is a SaaS-first, cloud-native security solution that allows partners to integrate their services. With more than 300 open API integrations, partners can connect their security technology stack. Leveraging Agentic AI, the platform automates threat investigation, risk mitigation, and responses. Generative AI enables partners to more efficiently design, test, and launch new security services, significantly reducing time-to-market for new service offerings. Alerts are automatically triaged and enriched with context, so what reaches human analysts are fully investigated, expert-vetted incidents, ready for action.
The Atlas XDR platform treats all customers as a unified security network, enabling automated intelligence sharing and proactive threat blocking. It supports multi-tenant compliance models, ensuring that partners meet data sovereignty requirements and in-region security mandates.
“The launch of the Atlas Nexus Network is a pivotal moment—not just for eSentire, but for the entire cybersecurity partner ecosystem,” said Kerry Bailey, CEO of eSentire. “For the first time, MSPs and System Integrators have the power to create their own security and business models within a world-class AI-driven platform, built by the team behind one of the world’s leading MDR providers. Generative AI is the ultimate abstraction layer, significantly reducing the barriers to launching customized, scalable security solutions in record time.”
Channel Impact®
The platform enables MSPs an integrators to more rapidly develop, integrate, and monetize security solutions.
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