Company:Kronos Incorporated

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Short description: Workforce management software and services company
Kronos Incorporated
TypePrivate
FateMerged with Ultimate Software
SuccessorUltimate Kronos Group
FoundedOctober 31, 1977; 46 years ago (1977-10-31)
FounderMark S. Ain
DefunctApril 1, 2020 (2020-04-01)
Headquarters
Lowell, Massachusetts
,
U.S.
Key people
Revenue$1.433 billion (2019)[1]
OwnerHellman & Friedman
Number of employees
6,000 (2019)[2]
Websitewww.kronos.com

Kronos Incorporated was an American multinational workforce management and human capital management cloud provider headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, which employed more than 6,000 people worldwide.[3]

In February 2020, the company announced a merger with Ultimate Software and that the combined company would be led by Aron Ain and be called Ultimate Kronos Group. The merger was officially completed on April 1, 2020.

History

Kronos Incorporated corporate headquarters in Lowell, MA

Kronos was founded in 1977 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Simon Business School alumnus Mark S. Ain.[4] Under Mark Ain's leadership, Kronos sustained one of the longest records of growth and profitability as a public company in software industry history.[5]

In 1979, Kronos delivered the world's first microprocessor-based time clock and, in 1985, delivered its first PC-based time and attendance product.

In 1992, Kronos became a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ.

Aron Ain,[6] succeeded his brother Mark Ain as chief executive officer in 2005.[7]

In March 2007, Kronos went private again, bought out for US$1.74 billion by the lead investor Hellman & Friedman and the secondary investor JMI Equity.[8]

In 2012, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals enforced a subpoena seeking production of documents by Kronos, Inc., in an administrative charge before the EEOC alleging disability discrimination. The charge was brought by an individual job applicant against Kroger Food Co., who did not hire the job applicant and used a Kronos assessment as part of its hiring process.[9] Kronos, which was not a party to the litigation, objected to the EEOC's subpoena on the basis that the information requested was irrelevant, and production would require Kronos to disclose protected trade secret information.[10]

In 2014, private equity firms Blackstone and GIC invested in Kronos alongside Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity. In the transaction, Kronos was valued at $4.5 billion.[11] This was the first year that the company achieved $1 billion in annual revenue.[12]

In 2017, Kronos moved its corporate headquarters from the nearby town of Chelmsford to the Cross Point Towers in Lowell, Massachusetts, consolidating multiple offices under one roof.[13]

In February 2020, the company announced a merger with Ultimate Software and that the combined company will be led by Aron Ain.[14][15]

In April 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kronos introduced an automated report-generating tool to aid contact tracing.[16] The tool analyzes work and attendance records of employees who test positive (or presumed positive) for COVID-19 to generate a report of potentially affected co-workers.[17]

On December 13, 2021, Kronos announced that, on December 11, it was discovered that Kronos had been subject to a ransomware attack which disabled the functionality of the Kronos Private Cloud software for "up to several weeks".[18] This breach forced many Kronos customers including municipalities, universities, and private employers to resort to alternative methods, including issuance of paper checks, to properly pay their employees.[19]

Products

Originally a manufacturer of time clocks, the majority of Kronos' revenue is now derived from software and services. The company provides cloud applications[20] for workforce management and human capital management, as well as consulting, education, and support services to its customers.

Acquisitions

Kronos has conducted a number of acquisitions,[21] with some of the most notable including:

  • Principal Decision Systems International (PDSI)[22]
  • The Workforce Solutions software division of SimplexGrinnell[23]
  • Stromberg[24]
  • 3i Systems[25]
  • SaaShr.com[26]
  • Time Link International Corporation (TimeLink)[27]
  • Empower Software Solutions[28]
  • Financial Management Solutions, Inc. (FMSI) [29]
  • Digital Instinct Pty. Limited[30]
  • OptiLink[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Kronos Has Record 2019: Annual Recurring Revenue Crosses $1 Billion | Kronos". 6 November 2023. https://www.kronos.com/about-us/newsroom/kronos-announces-record-2019-annual-recurring-revenue-crosses-1-billion. 
  2. ↑ "Kronos To Hit $1.5B In Revenue In $22.5B Human Capital Software Market". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2018/09/27/kronos-to-hit-1-5b-in-revenue-in-22-5b-human-capital-software-market/#231a0dd01550. Retrieved 19 December 2019. 
  3. ↑ "Kronos Employees Say Culture, Vision, and Innovation Drive Outstanding Engagement". Businesswire.com. 2015-05-12. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150512005060/en/Proud-Kronites%C2%A0Kronos-Employees-Culture-Vision-Innovation-Drive. Retrieved 2018-03-18. 
  4. ↑ "Meet Mark Ain". http://www.kronos.com/About/Leadership/Mark-Ain.aspx. Retrieved 18 March 2018. 
  5. ↑ Turchin, Brian. "THE BIG THREE: MICROSOFT, SAP- AND KRONOS?" (September/October 2003). Software Business. http://www.capehornstrategies.com/Kronos3.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-12. 
  6. ↑ Bryant, Adam (2016-09-09). "Aron Ain of Kronos: The Incalculable Value of a Good Boss". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/business/aron-ain-of-kronos-the-incalculable-value-of-a-good-boss.html. 
  7. ↑ "Kronos(R) Announces Executive Succession Plan; Mark Ain to Become Executive Chairman; Aron Ain to Become Chief Executive Officer; Paul Lacy to Become President". Business Wire. 14 September 2005. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050914006084/en/Kronos-Announces-Executive-Succession-Plan-Mark-Ain. 
  8. ↑ "Today In Business - Buyout Deal For Kronos". The New York Times. 24 March 2007. https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9405EED81530F937A15750C0A9619C8B63.html. Retrieved 18 March 2018. 
  9. ↑ "Appellant v. KRONOS INCORPORATED" (No. 11-2834). June 26, 2012. http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/112834p.pdf. 
  10. ↑ "Third Circuit Enforces EEOC Subpoena Seeking Test-Maker's Files on Employee Selection Tests Used by Employer". 2 October 2012. http://www.employmentlawwatch.com/2012/10/articles/employment-us/third-circuit-enforces-eeoc-subpoena-seeking-testmakers-files-on-employee-selection-tests-used-by-employer/. Retrieved 18 March 2018. 
  11. ↑ Mike Spector; Gillian Tan (20 February 2014). "Blackstone, GIC Invest in Kronos". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303775504579394062394276616. Retrieved 18 December 2019. 
  12. ↑ Dan Primack. "Kronos hits $1 billion revenue mark". Fortune. http://fortune.com/2014/04/30/kronos-hits-1-billion-revenue-mark/. Retrieved 19 December 2019. 
  13. ↑ "From Mill City to Innovation Hub: Relocating a Global Headquarters Outside Boston". 20 September 2017. https://urbanland.uli.org/development-business/industrial-innovation-locating-global-headquarters-outside-boston/. Retrieved 18 March 2018. 
  14. ↑ "HCM giants Kronos and Ultimate Software merge" (in en). 2020-02-21. https://www.benefitnews.com/news/kronos-and-ultimate-software-merge. 
  15. ↑ Gottfried, Miriam; Lombardo, Cara (20 February 2020). "Two Big Workplace-Software Providers to Merge". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-big-workplace-software-providers-to-merge-11582212671. Retrieved 10 March 2020. 
  16. ↑ Sarkar, Brinda (2020-04-29). "Kronos introduces employee contact-tracing capability". https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/kronos-introduces-employee-contact-tracing-capability/articleshow/75447985.cms. 
  17. ↑ Golden, Ryan (2020-04-30). "Kronos unveils contact tracing to track COVID-19 spread at work" (in en-US). https://www.hrdive.com/news/kronos-unveils-contact-tracing-to-track-covid-19-spread-at-work/577047/. 
  18. ↑ "Kronos Private Cloud Status Updates | UKG". 2021-12-14. https://www.ukg.com/KPCupdates. 
  19. ↑ Sullivan, Becky; Franklin, Jonathan (2021-12-16). "Kronos hack will likely affect how employers issue paychecks and track hours" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/12/14/1064247651/kronos-hack-paychecks. 
  20. ↑ Pang, Albert (December 2, 2019). "Kronos Incorporated Among Cloud Top 500 Software Vendors | Apps Run The World". https://www.appsruntheworld.com/cloud-top-500-applications-vendors/kronos-incorporated/. 
  21. ↑ Ray-Ghosal, Indrani. "Kronos Acquires Financial Management Solutions Inc. to Deepen Financial Services Industry Expertise" (in en). CHELMSFORD, Mass. https://www.kronos.com/about-us/newsroom/kronos-acquires-financial-management-solutions-inc-to-deepen-financial-services-industry-expertise. Retrieved January 5, 2017. 
  22. ↑ "Kronos Acquires Public Safety Scheduling Leader PDSI and its TeleStaff Product". Business Wire. 2011-05-02. http://venturebeatprofiles.com/news/view/result?article=388085. 
  23. ↑ "Kronos Acquires Australian Workforce Solutions Business of Simplex International Pty. Ltd. in Completion of 2001 Transaction" (Press release). Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  24. ↑ "Kronos Acquires Stromberg from Paychex…from Kronos". October 14, 2009. http://hrtechnologyvendornews.com/2009/10/14/kronos-acquires-stromberg-from-paychex%E2%80%A6from-kronos/. Retrieved 18 March 2018. 
  25. ↑ "Kronos acquires 3i systems". Boston Business Journal. 2004-09-22. http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2004/09/20/daily21.html. Retrieved 2018-03-18. 
  26. ↑ "Kronos Acquires SMB Workforce Management Leader SaaShr.com". Business Wire. 28 March 2012. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120328006171/en/Kronos-Acquires-SMB-Workforce-Management-Leader-SaaShr.com. 
  27. ↑ "Kronos Extends Workforce Management Market Leadership With Acquisition of TimeLink". 2013-08-20. http://www.kronos.com/pr/kronos-extends-workforce-management-market-leadership-with-acquisition-of-timelink.aspx. 
  28. ↑ "Kronos Acquires Empower Software Solutions". https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kronos-acquires-empower-software-solutions-153500466.html. Retrieved 2016-03-24. 
  29. ↑ "Kronos Acquires Financial Management Solutions Inc. to Deepen Financial Services Industry Expertise" (in en). https://www.kronos.com/about-us/newsroom/kronos-acquires-financial-management-solutions-inc-to-deepen-financial-services-industry-expertise. Retrieved 2017-07-27. 
  30. ↑ "Kronos Acquires Global Casino Resort Industry Leader Digital Instinct and its Virtual Roster Product" (in en). https://www.kronos.com/about-us/newsroom/kronos-acquires-global-casino-resort-industry-leader-digital-instinct-and-virtual-roster-product. Retrieved 2017-07-27. 
  31. ↑ "Kronos acquires OptiLink to strengthen workforce management offerings" (in en). https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/kronos-acquires-optilink. Retrieved 2020-09-21. 

External links



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