Monday Morning Impact – November 18
CompTIA: Tech Employment Holds Firm Despite “Muddied” Jobs Report
Key assessment metrics of the tech workforce held steady in October, against a backdrop of market distortions caused by weather events and labor strikes, according to CompTIA, an industry association based in suburban Chicago.
The organization’s analysis of the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report suggests that the tech unemployment rate for the month was essentially unchanged at 2.6%. The national unemployment rate at 4.1% was also unchanged.
Tech professions throughout the economy increased by 70,000 in October, to nearly 6.5 million workers in the aggregate. Employer job posting data indicates broad based hiring across software, cybersecurity, support, data and infrastructure.
Employment within the tech industry sector declined by 4,029 jobs for the month. Gains in cloud infrastructure and software were not quite enough to offset losses in tech manufacturing, telecommunications and tech services.
“Despite the higher than usual noise in this month’s labor market data, there are a number of positives to point to on the tech employment front,“ said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA. “The data indicates employers continue a balanced approach to hiring across core tech job roles and innovation enabling roles.”
The BLS jobs report specifically referenced the recent hurricanes as a factor affecting employment across the Southeast. There are more than 113,000 tech businesses in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee that potentially experienced disruptions affecting hiring.
U.S. employers listed 528,402 active employer job postings for tech positions last month, including almost 223,000 new listings. Positions for database architects (+10%) and network and computer system administrators (+6%) recorded the biggest percent change increases from September. The highest volumes of job postings were for positions in software development and engineering; IT project management, data analysis, emerging tech and related occupations; data science; and tech support specialists.
On a geographic basis, Washington (16,150), New York City (13,386) and Dallas (10,011) had the most tech job postings among metropolitan areas. San Jose, Baltimore, Austin, Philadelphia and Virginia Beach saw the largest month-over-month increases in postings. At the state level, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania recorded the biggest gains.
Channel Impact®
Partners should monitor growth rates for the remainder of Q4.
Gartner: AI and Generative AI Lead Digital Supply Chain Investment Priorities
AI and Generative AI are the top digital supply chain investment priorities, according to a survey by Gartner.
Twenty-six percent of North American respondents identified AI, including machine learning, as their top priority compared to 14% of Western Europeans.
Fourteen percent of Western European respondents identified robots in manufacturing as their top choice compared to only 1% of North American respondents. Geographical variances generally correlated with industry-specific priorities; regions with a higher proportion of manufacturing respondents were less likely to select AI or GenAI as a top digital priority.
“While enthusiasm for both traditional AI and GenAI remain high on an absolute level within supply chain, the prioritization varies greatly between different roles, geographies and industries,” said Michael Dominy, VP Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “European respondents were more likely to prioritize technologies that align with Industry 4.0 objectives, such as smart manufacturing. In addition to region differences, certain industries prioritize specific use cases, such as robotics or machine learning, which are currently viewed as more pragmatic investments than GenAI.”
“The variation in regional priorities has implications for those devising supply chain technology roadmaps,” continued Dominy. “Companies that have supply chains and operations in multiple geographies might find it more beneficial to invest in digital technologies differently by region versus more common approaches which tend to be by function.”
Another significant divide emerged by organizational role, with only 12% of business-focused roles indicating GenAI was the top priority, compared to 28% of IT roles. The data may indicate that GenAI use cases are currently perceived as less tangible and directly tied to core supply chain processes.
The global survey was conducted in June 2024 with 419 supply chain leaders that had influence in their organizations’ digital supply chain strategies. Gartner clients can read more in: “How AI and GenAI Priorities Vary in Different Supply Chains.” Nonclients can learn more in: “Digital Supply Chain and Technology Transformation.”
Channel Impact®
The report can help partners navigate and guide technology adoption strategies on a worldwide basis, driven by the imperatives of the particular region. However, the data suggests that business leaders still question whether GenAI can deliver an adequate return on investment.
Blackpoint Cyber Launches Global Partner Initiative
Blackpoint Cyber, a Denver-based cybersecurity company, has launched a new partner program.
A key highlight is the launch of Blackpoint’s first true enablement platform, featuring educational content from Blackpoint University and Campaign-in-a-Box resources. These tools are intended to help go-to-market teams and first-time sellers to more confidently sell the company’s security solutions.
Benefits include early access to new products, quarterly roadmap sessions, post-incident remediation support, in-office sales training, SOC concierge services, dedicated account management, leads distribution, on-demand sales training, and MDF. Benefits may vary based on partner level.
“Cybersecurity shouldn’t be a trade-off between protection and growth,” said Blackpoint Cyber Founder and CEO Jon Murchison. “With our Global Partner Program, we’re removing those barriers so that our partners can scale securely, leveraging our in-house expertise and operating confidently knowing that Blackpoint has their back.”
“When we work together, we can achieve incredible things, and vendor partnerships are no exception to that—in fact, they’re essential to success,” said Mike Estep, Chief Client Officer at Blackpoint. “I’m excited to help our partners not only understand our products but also excel in selling them, because I’ve seen firsthand the impact of doing it right.”
Founded in 2014 by former Department of Defense security and intelligence experts,
Blackpoint Cyber’s stated objective is to provide 24/7, proactive, nation-state-grade cybersecurity to organizations of all sizes around the world.
Channel Impact®
According to the company, the program is designed with flexibility and scalability in order to help partners accelerate go-to-market strategies for sustained growth.
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