Abacus Technology Sets New Trend Among AFCEA Corporate Members

In a first-of-its-kind move, new sustaining AFCEA corporate member Abacus Technology is offering its employees associate AFCEA memberships as an employee benefit. So far, the company has signed up 300 employees.

“I wish we had done it sooner because we really have gotten a lot of positive feedback,” says Alice Solomon, a vice president of Abacus. “When we were trying to come up with approaches for tightening up our community, it just seemed like a logical thing to do,” she adds.

About half of Abacus’ workforce of 800 is engineering and technical staff supporting the Air Force, its biggest customer. Almost all of the work of the company is federal, mostly with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Abacus hires a lot of people from private industry, and there is often an education process that comes with it. “These young engineers know what they’re doing technically, but we want them to feel like a part of the Air Force community,” says Solomon.

“What AFCEA is doing with IT and developing technology really is exciting, but a lot of the candidates we have in the industry don’t know that yet,” Solomon says. She hopes bringing an AFCEA membership into the mix will help Abacus attract and retain young IT professionals and engineers. Adding a sense of community can make a job more meaningful.

“Sometimes these engineers come in and do the job but aren’t really immersed in the mission and the purpose,” says Solomon. “With AFCEA they can attend some of the events, gain leadership skills and take part in volunteer opportunities.”

An AFCEA member herself for many years, Solomon attends Alamo ACE and Lexington and Concord’s New Horizons every year. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing Young AFCEANs participate in these events. So often network engineers spend the bulk of their time in a server room or are so focused on their program that to be able to get out and be in a room with 1,000 people and see the big picture really ties it all together.”

The labor market for cybersecurity and IT professionals has never been more competitive. Companies are looking at a number of different ways to find talent. “We work in a heterogeneous environment with the military, government, civil service and contractors, so it helps to have a common ground,” Solomon says.

Abacus challenges its industry partners to do the same. “Take on the challenge of helping develop Young AFCEANs,” stresses Solomon. “Give them a sense of belonging.”