Kronos Incorporated Explained

Kronos Incorporated
Type:Private
Fate:Merged with Ultimate Software
Successor:Ultimate Kronos Group
Founder:Mark S. Ain
Revenue:$1.433 billion (2019)[1]
Num Employees:6,000 (2019)[2]
Owner:Hellman & Friedman
Location City:Lowell, Massachusetts
Location Country:U.S.

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 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]

Acquisitions

Kronos has conducted a number of acquisitions,[20] with some of the most notable including:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kronos Has Record 2019: Annual Recurring Revenue Crosses $1 Billion | Kronos. 6 November 2023 .
  2. Web site: Kronos To Hit $1.5B In Revenue In $22.5B Human Capital Software Market. Forbes. 19 December 2019.
  3. Web site: Kronos Employees Say Culture, Vision, and Innovation Drive Outstanding Engagement . Businesswire.com . 2015-05-12 . 2018-03-18.
  4. Web site: Meet Mark Ain. 18 March 2018.
  5. THE BIG THREE: MICROSOFT, SAP- AND KRONOS?. Turchin, Brian. September/October 2003. Software Business . 2007-11-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20040329221633/http://www.capehornstrategies.com/Kronos3.pdf . 2004-03-29 . dead . mdy-all.
  6. News: Aron Ain of Kronos: The Incalculable Value of a Good Boss. Bryant. Adam. 2016-09-09. The New York Times. mdy-all.
  7. Web site: Kronos(R) Announces Executive Succession Plan; Mark Ain to Become Executive Chairman; Aron Ain to Become Chief Executive Officer; Paul Lacy to Become President . 14 September 2005 . Business Wire. mdy-all.
  8. News: Today In Business - Buyout Deal For Kronos. 24 March 2007. 18 March 2018. The New York Times. mdy-all.
  9. Web site: Appellant v. KRONOS INCORPORATED . UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT . https://web.archive.org/web/20131004225507/http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/112834p.pdf . 2013-10-04 . No. 11-2834 . June 26, 2012. mdy-all.
  10. Web site: Third Circuit Enforces EEOC Subpoena Seeking Test-Maker's Files on Employee Selection Tests Used by Employer . Employment Law Watch. 2 October 2012. Offer, Meghan O.. 18 March 2018. mdy-all.
  11. News: Blackstone, GIC Invest in Kronos. Wall Street Journal. Mike Spector. Gillian Tan. 20 February 2014. 18 December 2019.
  12. Web site: Kronos hits $1 billion revenue mark. Dan Primack. Fortune. 19 December 2019.
  13. Web site: From Mill City to Innovation Hub: Relocating a Global Headquarters Outside Boston . Hoban, Michael. Urban Land Magazine. 20 September 2017. 18 March 2018. mdy-all.
  14. Web site: HCM giants Kronos and Ultimate Software merge. 2020-02-21. Employee Benefit News. Webster, Kayla . en. 2020-02-24. mdy-all.
  15. News: Two Big Workplace-Software Providers to Merge. 20 February 2020. Wall Street Journal. Gottfried, Miriam . Lombardo, Cara. 10 March 2020. mdy-all.
  16. News: Sarkar . Brinda . 2020-04-29 . Kronos introduces employee contact-tracing capability . 2020-06-17 . The Economic Times.
  17. Web site: Golden . Ryan . 2020-04-30 . Kronos unveils contact tracing to track COVID-19 spread at work . 2020-06-17 . HR Dive . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2021-12-14. Kronos Private Cloud Status Updates UKG. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214144327/https://www.ukg.com/KPCupdates. dead. 2021-12-14. 2021-12-31.
  19. News: Sullivan. Becky. Franklin. Jonathan. 2021-12-16. Kronos hack will likely affect how employers issue paychecks and track hours. en. NPR. 2021-12-31.
  20. Web site: Ray-Ghosal. Indrani . Kronos Acquires Financial Management Solutions Inc. to Deepen Financial Services Industry Expertise. Kronos. January 5, 2017. CHELMSFORD, Mass. en.
  21. News: Kronos Acquires Public Safety Scheduling Leader PDSI and its TeleStaff Product. 2011-05-02 . Business Wire. dmy-all.
  22. Kronos Acquires Australian Workforce Solutions Business of Simplex International Pty. Ltd. in Completion of 2001 Transaction. 18 March 2018.
  23. Web site: Kronos Acquires Stromberg from Paychex…from Kronos. HRchitect . October 14, 2009 . 18 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20141117014037/http://hrtechnologyvendornews.com/2009/10/14/kronos-acquires-stromberg-from-paychex%E2%80%A6from-kronos/. 17 November 2014. dead. mdy-all.
  24. Web site: Kronos acquires 3i systems . Boston Business Journal . 2004-09-22 . Kizielewiz, Jim. 2018-03-18. mdy-all.
  25. Web site: Kronos Acquires SMB Workforce Management Leader SaaShr.com . Business Wire . 28 March 2012. mdy-all.
  26. News: Kronos Extends Workforce Management Market Leadership With Acquisition of TimeLink. 2013-08-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20160822141209/http://www.kronos.com/pr/kronos-extends-workforce-management-market-leadership-with-acquisition-of-timelink.aspx. www.kronos.com. 2016-08-22. dead. mdy-all.
  27. Web site: Kronos Acquires Empower Software Solutions. Yahoo Finance. 2016-03-24. mdy-all.
  28. Web site: Kronos Acquires Financial Management Solutions Inc. to Deepen Financial Services Industry Expertise. www.kronos.com. en. 2017-07-27. mdy-all.
  29. Web site: Kronos Acquires Global Casino Resort Industry Leader Digital Instinct and its Virtual Roster Product. www.kronos.com. en. 2017-07-27. mdy-all.
  30. Web site: Kronos acquires OptiLink to strengthen workforce management offerings. www.healthcarefinancenews.com. en. 2020-09-21. mdy-all.

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