Giving Back and Exceptional Performance are two ways COMSO is making it happen every day within the IC and IT industry in Maryland. Check out more about how they do it in our Entrepreneur Spotlight with Jacqui Magnes, CEO of COMSO.
- How did you come up with the vision, “Together we will Make it Happen”?
When I acquired COMSO, my vision was more of a textbook vision- Exceptional performance in all that we do. After rebranding and refreshing COMSO, digging deep to understand the resiliency and capabilities of COMSO, and do not forget to add, operating through a pandemic, we were Making it Happen every day, and we were doing it together. Change was starting to be fearlessly embraced, and confidence in our ability to prevail and grow, regardless of the circumstance, was being established. Exceptional performance is now one of our values.
- What would you tell a person trying to start their career in IT?
A career in IT can be started at any point in your life, and you do not need a formal degree to start some careers in IT, just the willingness to learn. Learn as much as you can using online sources, hands-on experiences, and formal training.
- What is next for advancing COMSO?
COMSO has been providing IT services to the federal government for over 34 years. We will maintain our foothold in this industry; however, with the changing environment and challenges of finding employees, I am seeking to expand COMSO outside our current industry. COMSO has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CISPOINT, Inc., the IT Managed Service Provider company that provides IT management, security, and technical support to small and medium sized companies. The deal will be complete by the end of 2022. Starting January 1, 2023, CISPOINT will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of COMSO, Inc.
- How has COMSO evolved since you first acquired it?
Since I acquired COMSO in 2017, we have increased our brand awareness within the IC and within the IT industry in Maryland. We have actively marketed our extensive capabilities and sought teaming opportunities with other successful companies. COMSO also makes Giving Back a priority. We give back to many organizations and encourage our employees to give back to charities that are important to them.
- What excites you the most about being in this industry?
The most exciting part about the IT industry is that it is continuously changing and evolving. Whether people realize it, every industry has an IT component. I also get excited to introduce new people to this industry and watch them embrace it and flourish.
- What is the biggest challenge in this industry?
Finding, maintaining, and retaining qualified people. Besides competing with many companies in our industry for qualified candidates, we are also competing with companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
- Tell us about COMSO’s Empowering Women in Technology Scholarship.
We all know that there is an ongoing need for women in technology. The data shows that the percentage of women in large tech companies is only 25%, and the ratio of men to women in engineering is 5:1. There are numerous reasons and speculations as to why women are not going and staying in technology fields. COMSO wants to do our part to support women who want to close this employment gap. COMSO’s Empowering Women in Technology Scholarship hopes to change the statistics by encouraging young women to pursue a career in a Technology field. The COMSO Empowering Women in Technology Scholarship (eWIT Scholarship) is a merit-based scholarship that provides four (4) one-time scholarships of $2,500.
