The ribbon-cutting at Command Post Technologies Inc.’s first Orlando office on Feb. 28, 2020, drew members of the community, including Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, to celebrate the firm’s expansion to Orlando.
However, back then there was chatter about the possibility of Covid-19 cases popping up in Central Florida and Walt Disney World, said Scott Bisciotti, CEO of Suffolk, Virginia-based Command Post. Two weeks after the event, Central Florida got its first confirmed case. Business closures and stay-at-home orders quickly followed.
While the timing for Command Post’s expansion to Central Florida was less than ideal, the cybersecurity defense contractor remained committed to putting down roots in the region. Now, the company once again is focusing on quickly growing its local team, with 20 hires expected in the next two years, Bisciotti said.
HR, contractors and engineers
Command Post’s local office is in the University of Central Florida Research Park Incubator. The company was drawn to the area because of the heavy presence of military contracting bodies, which are Command Post’s clients, around UCF, Bisciotti said.”It makes it easier and faster to address their needs, adapt our capabilities and be more responsive.”
Command Post’s expansion to the area means the creation of high-wage jobs. The company previously announced the network and cyber engineer positions it will hire in Orlando will pay salaries ranging from $75,000 to $150,000.
Plus, Command Post will make Orlando its hub for the company’s human resources and contract management operations, Bisciotti said. Human resource specialists in metro Orlando earn an average annual wage of $61,220, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Contract administrators on average make $61,474 per year, according to salary data site PayScale. That means all these positions pay more than Orlando’s average annual wage of $48,530.
Cyber grows in Orlando
Many of the companies in Central Florida’s burgeoning cybersecurity sector have landed big contracts and venture capital deals in recent months. For example, Maitland-based ThreatLocker Inc. in April closed a $20 million VC round, and Lake Mary-based BlackCloak Inc. got $11 million in a round detailed in a July 30 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The growth of cybersecurity firms in Central Florida gives graduates coming out of local universities, like UCF, a reason to stay instead of heading out of state, BlackCloak CEO Chris Pierson previously told Orlando Inno. “With Covid, there’s a little bit of head-scratching on why to take a trek to the West Coast. There is great stuff happening here. If you’re here, the market is right down the street.”
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