UKG

Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG) is an American multinational technology company with dual headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Florida. It provides workforce management and human resource management services.

This article is about the company. For the genre of electronic music, see UK garage. For other uses, see UKG (disambiguation).
Ultimate Kronos Group
TypePrivate
Industry
Predecessors
FoundedApril 1, 2020 (2020-04-01)
Headquarters
Key people
RevenueIncrease$3.26 billion (2021)[1]
Owners
Number of employees
15,000+ (2023)
Websitewww.ukg.com

The company was founded in April 2020 as a result of the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos Incorporated.[3] Former Kronos CEO Aron Ain was the CEO and chairperson of the combined company until July 1, 2022, when he stepped down as CEO to become Executive Chairperson.[4]

History

On February 20, 2020, Ultimate Software and Kronos Incorporated announced they agreed to form a new cloud computing venture specializing in workforce management and human capital management. The combined company, valued at $22 billion, would be one of the largest cloud computing companies. Kronos CEO Aron Ain became CEO and chairman of the new company, with more than 12,000 employees and dual headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Florida.[5][6][7][8] The merger was officially completed on April 1, 2020,[9][10] and in August, the company's name was announced as Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), which became effective on October 1.[11] When discussing the name, Ain said it was chosen as a "reflection to honor our past as we also thought about what we wanted to be in the future [...] We didn't want to lose who we were and what we've achieved." Ain also said the company planned to primarily call itself UKG.[2]

Fortune reports that due to the impact of COVID-19, the majority of UKG's workers switched to remote work from home.[12]

In May 2021, the company appointed tech industry veteran Brian Reaves as the company's Chief Belonging, Diversity, and Equity Officer.[13]

UKG has been noted for its inclusive, diversified workforce and community-oriented work environment.[14][15][16][17]

In December 2021, UKG launched its Close the Gap Initiative, a $3 million campaign funded by the company to address salary inequity for U.S. workers' wages, in particular for women and people of color.[18]

In June 2022, UKG announced the promotion of Christopher Todd from President to chief executive officer, with Aron Ain becoming Executive Chairperson effective July 1, 2022.

Mergers and acquisitions

Following the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos Incorporated, the Ultimate Kronos Group was established in April 2020. According to Society for Human Resource Management, the new company became one of the largest HR technology vendors in the highly competitive economy section that include ADP, Ceridian, Microsoft, Oracle Taleo, SAP Successfactors, and Workday.[19]

In June 2021, the company acquired EverythingBenefits, a developer of cloud-based business software that connects employers to the insurance, retirement and other information. The acquisition allowed UKG to incorporate EverythingBenefits’ procedural knowledge including its suite of payroll, HR service delivery, and workforce management, among other tools.[20]

On September 1, 2021, UKG bought Great Place to Work, the company behind Fortune’s annual list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.[21][22]

In November 2022, it was announced UKG had acquired the Oxford-headquartered strategic workforce planning software company, Quorbit.[23]

Workforce Institute

Established in 2007, Workforce Institute is the company's think tank and research platform for organizations providing information on the Human Capital Management issues that includes working environment optimization, analytical and educational tools, accommodation of people with disabilities and more. The organization also conducts surveys and issues annual reports on global workforce trends and developments.[24][25][26][27]

Ransomware attack

In December 2021, UKG disclosed that it was targeted by a ransomware attack that was first detected on December 11, 2021. The malware attack affected the Kronos Private Cloud feature used by many large businesses including Boots, Gap Inc., Marriott International, MGM Resorts International, PepsiCo, Sainsbury's, Samsung, Staples Inc., Tesla, Inc., Whole Foods Market, Yamaha Corporation, YMCA, and others while some governmental entities such as the cities of Cleveland, Springfield, Massachusetts as well as the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority were also affected.[28][29][30][31][32]

A number of sources reported that the attack possibly occurred as a result of the Log4Shell zero-day, but UKG claimed it did not have evidence of Log4Shell being responsible for the ransomware incident.[32][33][30][28]

Ownership

Private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, who was the controlling shareholder of both Ultimate and Kronos, is the controlling shareholder of UKG. The Blackstone Group, which also owned stakes in both previous companies, is the largest minority investor with a 20–25 percent stake.[2][6] Other minority investors include GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and JMI Equity.[5]

Products and services

References
  1. "UKG Exceeds Goals for Full-Year, Q4 Financial Results".
  2. Maffei, Lucia (August 28, 2020). "Kronos rebrands after merger with Ultimate Software". Boston Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  3. "Kronos rebrands after merger with Ultimate Software". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "UKG Names Chris Todd as Chief Executive Officer".
  5. "Kronos and Ultimate Software Enter Definitive Merger Agreement Creating Company Valued at $22 Billion" (Press release). Lowell, Massachusetts and Weston, Florida: Kronos Incorporated. Business Wire. February 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  6. Gottfried, Miriam; Lombardo, Cara (February 20, 2020). "Two Big Workplace-Software Providers to Merge". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  7. Lyons, David (February 20, 2020). "Ultimate Software merger will create giant workplace company". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  8. Spadafora, Anthony (February 22, 2020). "Kronos and Ultimate Software merger creates one of world's largest cloud companies". TechRadar. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  9. Reiser, Emon (April 2, 2020). "Ultimate Software, Kronos complete merger". South Florida Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  10. "Kronos and Ultimate Software Complete Merger" (Press release). Lowell, Massachusetts and Weston, Florida: Ultimate Software. Business Wire. April 1, 2020. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  11. "Kronos and Ultimate Software Unveil Plans to Rebrand as "UKG"" (Press release). Lowell, Massachusetts and Weston, Florida: UKG. Business Wire. August 28, 2020. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  12. "How the Best Workplaces in Technology plan to go from virtual to hybrid workplaces". Fortune.
  13. Ranosa, Rachel (2021-05-24). "UKG names new diversity and inclusion chief". HRD.
  14. "100 Best Companies to Work For". Fortune.
  15. "PEOPLE's 100 Companies That Care 2021: Meet the Employers Putting Their Communities First". People.
  16. "UKG Pay Equity Effort Aims to Drive Awareness, Action". HCM Technology Report. 10 December 2021.
  17. Grensing-Pophal, Lin (2021-11-22). "Technology Can Assist When Accommodating Employees with Disabilities". SHRM.
  18. Cuadra, Deanna (2021-12-06). "UKG is launching a multimillion-dollar pay equity initiative". EBN.
  19. Maurer, Roy (February 21, 2020). "What Does the Kronos and Ultimate Software Merger Mean for HR?". Society for Human Resource Management. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  20. Ranosa, Rachel (2021-06-03). "UKG acquires benefits tech platform EverythingBenefits". Human Resources Director.
  21. Feffer, Mark (2021-09-01). "UKG Purchases Great Place to Work Institute". HCM Technology Report.
  22. "UKG CEO lights the way to an A+ workplace for employees". Fortune.
  23. FinSMEs (2022-11-10). "UKG Acquires Quorbit". FinSMEs. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  24. "The Workforce Institute Profile and History". Datanyze.
  25. "ovid-19's Workplace Impact Study". Workplace Intelligence.
  26. "93% of Indian employees believe they are not heard equally at work: The Workforce Institute at UKG". People Matters. 14 July 2021.
  27. "A 'Turnover Tsunami' Won't Hit Every Company". Forbes.
  28. Shen, Michelle. "Ransomware attack on Kronos could disrupt how companies pay, manage employees for weeks". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-12-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. Byrnes, Jesse (2021-12-14). "Hillicon Valley — Apache vulnerability sets off alarm bells". TheHill. Retrieved 2021-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. Korn, Jennifer (16 December 2021). "Kronos ransomware attack could impact employee paychecks and timesheets for weeks". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. "Springfield warns of ransomware". masslive. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  32. Bray, Hiawatha (15 December 2021). "Emerging 'Log4j' software bug spawns worldwide worry over cyber attacks - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2021-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. Goodin, Dan (2021-12-13). "As Log4Shell wreaks havoc, payroll service reports ransomware attack". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. Brandau, Mark (February 21, 2020). "Top Three Takeaways From The Kronos-Ultimate Merger Announcement". Forrester Research. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
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