City’s Largest African-American Owned Cyber Firm Is Changing the Face of the Industry
As technology advances at the speed of light, cybersecurity ranks among the top pressing issues of our time, catapulting it to one of the fastest growing careers. Yet, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that worldwide there were one million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in 2016, and that number is projected to double to more than two million by 2021. Sadly, African Americans represent a mere 3 percent of information security analysts in the U.S.
But one Chicago-based firm is changing that paradigm. Nearly five years in the making, Evanston Technology Partners (ETP) will officially open its new world headquarters at 56 E. 47th Street on the South Side in Bronzeville on July 31. It is the city’s first and largest African-American owned cybersecurity firm. Evanston Technology Partners provides cybersecurity monitoring, detection, response, and remediation for clients and occupies a space where less than 1 percent of current cybersecurity staffing and ownership is African American.
“We are proud to partner with several companies to help diversify a field that’s experiencing exponential growth,” says Emmanuel Jackson,Evanston Technology Partners founder, CEO and president. “We have clients who depend on our expertise. We also have a community of talent that will align with market demand.”
In August, IBM is scheduled to train 40 Evanston Technology Partners cybersecurity professionals on its security platforms. This will make Evanston Technology Partners the largest IBM security credentialed partner in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
According to the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP), in the United States, women comprise only 10 percent of the cybersecurity workforce. African Americans and Hispanics represent less than 12 percent.
Jackson and his firm are working hard to increase the number of qualified minorities in the field. For Evanston Technology Partners, talent is everywhere. “We recruit potential workforce from Chicago and across the country,” explains Jackson. “There are 13 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that have significant cybersecurity programs. HBCUs help us identify the next generation of cybersecurity experts.”
Located in the historic Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments complex, the new office for the technology and services firm includes nearly 5,000 square feet of office space, a gym, a wellness center, and is Chicago’s first Cybersecurity Operations and Enterprise Technology Innovation Center (COETIC). Back in its heyday, the landmark building was home to a who’s who in Black America, including Ebony and JET publishing giant John H. Johnson, entrepreneur S.B. Fuller, and music legend Quincy Jones.
The new location has great significance for Jackson, who grew up on 47th Street and in Cabrini Green public housing. “It’s very important that African American children see us in these non-traditional, high-paying careers because there’s a need to develop talent,” explains Jackson. “Half of our 47 new hires will be people who live in this community. We hope this will spur economic prosperity for families, communities, and local businesses as more money stays in this community.” The City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development awarded Evanston Technology Partners a $500,000 TIF Works grant to train and certify new hires in partnership with Governors State University, IBM, Dell, and Hitachi.
Lloyds of London estimated that in 2015, cybercrimes cost businesses globally nearly $400 billion. Industry experts IDC ZDNet and Cybersecurity Ventures say that global cybersecurity spending will top $103 billion this year and predict it to exceed $1 trillion from 2017-2021, respectively.
Evanston Technology Partners has public and private partnerships with IBM Security, Dell Technologies, Hitachi, The City of Chicago, Cook County Workforce Development, and the State of Illinois Economic Opportunity Program. Its technology partners include Vizient, Dell EMC, Inspired eLearning, RSA, WMware, Cisco, Infotecs, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Enlighted, Oracle, Citrix, Lenovo, and Palerra. ETP is a certified MBE (minority business enterprise) with the City of Chicago and the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council. For more information, visit https://evanstontec.com/
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