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PRO Unlimited, the contingent workforce management services solution provider, announced its acquisition of PeopleTicker, the workforce rate benchmarking and analytics platform. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to today’s announcement, by acquiring PeopleTicker, PRO Unlimited “has expanded the capabilities of its contingent workforce management platform.” The announcement also noted that PeopleTicker uses “machine learning and industry-expert crowdsourcing” to assemble an extensive market rate database global, covering labor markets in 160 countries.
This acquisition comes on the heels of PRO Unlimited’s launch of its RatePoint solution in early December. At the time of the launch, the solution was described as “a new SaaS application that provides employers with on-demand rate and hiring intelligence for professional contingent positions globally.”
The company’s acquisition of a workforce data and analytics provider is not entirely surprising, taking into account what Spend Matters learned in a discussion with PRO Unlimited’s CEO, Kevin Akeroyd, in October.
Akeroyd, an industry outsider who became CEO in July 2020, has a background in managing technology and data businesses. He was clear about his interest in leveraging data as a key pillar of the PRO Unlimited business he would be leading and hinted that acquisitions could figure into the plan.
In early 2020, Spend Matters PRO content featured the PeopleTicker: Vendor Analysis — Solution Overview, SWOT, Tech Selection Tips, a deep-dive into the PeopleTicker business, solution offerings and market position. We found PeopleTicker was differentiated in a number of ways, including its easy-to-use, buy-by-the-drink self-service Jobs Library (launched in 2019); its Skills Village Expert Network (that provides local validation of salaries/rates, trends, etc.); its Staffing Branch Libraries; and last but not least, its data. PeopleTicker has represented that it collects data from over 1,000 sources and manages data elements for over 500 job titles, enabling rate benchmarking down to local geographic levels.
This database is a valuable asset, at a tactical as well as a strategic level. When it comes to contingent/extended workforce rate databases, very few options exist today (something that Spend Matters observed in another PRO analysis series, Specialist providers of contingent workforce rate benchmarking/analytics — Part 1). PeopleTicker is one of them, and its rate benchmarking data distribution channel includes many workforce intermediaries, including (we believe) many MSPs. Building a database of this depth and scope is no small task. Thus, in some ways, perhaps, PeopleTicker was (and now PRO Unlimited may be) in the catbird seat.
Right out of the gate in 2021, PRO Unlimited has flexed some investment muscle and put its foot down squarely in the domain of contingent workforce rate benchmarking and other market data and analytics — an area that is likely to become increasingly important to businesses over the short and long terms.
But this is only a first step.
Additional research and discussion with PRO Unlimited management is necessary to gain further insight into the plan for incorporating PeopleTicker’s domain expertise, data assets and solution offerings into the PRO Unlimited business. Once that is accomplished, we can deliver further analysis.