PSC acquires TechAmerica Foundation operations

The Professional Services Council has reached a deal to take over TechAmerica Foundation, the conference and survey operations of the tech group acquired by CompTIA last spring.

CompTIA and the Professional Services Council unveiled an agreement Feb. 2 in which PSC acquires the TechAmerica Foundation, including that organization's signature reports and conferences, including the Vision Forecast and Conference, Defense Strategic Planning Forum, annual CIO survey and the American Technology Awards. All of the activities will continue under PSC, the two organizations said in a joint statement.

The transaction is effective immediately. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

CompTIA acquired the foundation along with its event and marketing activities when it bought TechAmerica last spring, hard on the heels of settling a $5 million lawsuit between TechAmerica and its rival, the Information Technology Industry Council. Those two groups had been battling over three employees who left TechAmerica for ITI in November 2013.

PSC President and CEO Stan Soloway said his organization's acquisition of the foundation "will enhance PSC's effectiveness and our ability to deliver greater value to our members."

"The TechAmerica Foundation, its programs and research are all highly regarded," Soloway said in the joint statement. "Moreover, they naturally align with our mission and our organizational model. As such, there is enormous potential to build on those legacies and we are committed to doing so."

CompTIA President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux said in the same statement that "the activities of the TechAmerica Foundation could be better served by an organization aligned to maximize the value of these key resources." CompTIA told Washington Technology that it was discontinuing its advocacy work in the federal public sector, "except for areas such as convergence that cut across the public and commercial sectors."