Economic uncertainty can lead to stagnation, which is why companies should start reviving key initiatives now to maintain their competitive edge

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — October 24, 2023 — While it’s understandable that many organizations have capitulated to the economic uncertainty of the last several years by delaying high-priority IT projects, giving in to such turbulence for too long can hinder growth and harm market competitiveness. This is why heading into 2024 is the right time to start reprioritizing such objectives, according to Consulting Solutions, a nationally recognized leader in technology workforce and consulting services.

“Investing in digital transformation can help organizations gain operational efficiencies, deliver market-leading solutions, and position themselves for rapid growth,” said Consulting Solutions CEO Michael Werblun. “But in the wake of the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn, many organizations have found themselves waiting it out. Such ‘analysis paralysis’ can lead to their being outpaced by competitors.”

Not to mention, the economic outlook for the country moving forward may be getting brighter. For instance, the August 2023 National Association for Business Economics (NABE) Economic Policy Survey found that more than two-thirds of panelists were at least somewhat confident of a “soft landing” for the U.S. economy.

Werblun further dispelled the myth of there being a surplus of tech workers at the ready for when the economy does rebound, especially in specialty areas. As one example, there are currently over 660,000 cybersecurity job openings in the United States, with only 69 skilled cybersecurity workers for every 100 employers require.

The bottom line is not to wait for the economy to trend upward to jump-start critical initiatives, as the supply of IT talent may fall short of needs.

Skilled Tech Consultants Available “On Demand” Can Deliver Substantial ROI

Many organizations are finding benefit in contracting IT consultants who are highly skilled in mission-critical areas such as cloud migration, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies like AI/ML and NLP to spearhead and complete key projects. In fact, contracting such talent is becoming the “new normal” as many of these experts are no longer seeking traditional jobs but are going the consulting route by partnering with workforce solutions providers to attain flexibility and keep their work interesting by focusing on projects of their choosing.

“In most cases, it just doesn’t make sense for an organization to keep a bench of FTEs for specific technologies when they can lean on workforce solutions providers like Consulting Solutions to deliver expert resources on an as-needed basis so they can scale up rapidly, then scale back down afterward. It’s a way to attain the top talent, without the permanent cost,” explained Werblun. “This is especially key as many organizations are gun-shy and looking to wade back into IT prioritization.”

He added that modern workforce solutions partners not only serve as a gateway to high-caliber technology talent, but can also provide strategic guidance to clients on staffing needs, projected costs, and project scope due to the magnitude of past projects they’ve successfully supported.

As organizations move into 2024, don’t wait—consider reactivating IT initiatives that have been placed on hold. Partnering with workforce solutions providers can offer the best of both worlds, including access to top technology resources without the risk of long-term commitment and cost.

About Consulting Solutions 

Consulting Solutions (www.consultingsolutions.com) is a nationally recognized leader in technology solutions and services. Consulting Solutions’ key practice areas include Advanced Analytics and Data Science,  Agile + Product + Design, Application Development, Cloud & Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Delivery Leadership, Energy and ERP (SAP & Oracle). Our scalable engagement models—from individual technology consultants to strategic enterprise programs—enable clients to tap into world-class talent, expertise, and services to drive technology and enterprise transformation initiatives. Consulting Solutions was recently named to the NABR Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation, Financial Times list of the Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies, the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, and SIA Largest Staffing Firms in the U.S.

Empyrean was thrilled to be part of the FOF Golf Association outing at Chestnut Ridge Resort in Blairsville, PA! Empyrean took the lead as a proud foursome sponsor, partnering with representatives from industry powerhouses like Waste Management, Range Resources, and EQT.

We didn’t stop there – serving as a prominent luncheon sponsor for both Tom’s Run and Chestnut Ridge; we united forces to raise an awe-inspiring $25,000 for local charities, making a lasting impact in our community!  See photos here.

Exciting news! Consulting Solutions has been named one of the 2023 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources! 🏆

This prestigious recognition reflects our commitment to exceptional employment standards and to creating a positive work environment for our talented teams. We are honored to be among the 195 organizations selected from 1,300 nominations.

Thank you to our incredible team for making Consulting Solutions an exceptional workplace!

Consulting Solutions Named to Spring 2023 List of Best and Brightest Companies to Work For In the Nation

Annual list by National Association for Business Resources recognizes best human-resources practices and companies that are leaders in employment standards

JACKSONVILLE, FL — July 11, 2022 — Consulting Solutions, a nationally recognized leader in technology workforce and consulting services, announced today that it has been named among the 2022 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR). The company also received this recognition in 2020.
Winning companies were assessed by an independent research firm and were scored on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, and retention.

“Consulting Solutions is committed to exemplary human-resources practices that positively impact employee engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity,” said Michael Werblun, CEO of Consulting Solutions. “We’re honored to receive this year’s Best and Brightest recognition on a national level. Every employee trajectory is important to us, and we look forward to continuing to raise the bar in terms of how we help our teams excel while also achieving a work-life balance.”

“These 2022 winning organizations have stood out during unpredictable times and have proven they are an employer of choice. They continue to keep the needs of their employees first and provide perks that include development, wellbeing, work-life balance, rewards, and recognition. In addition, these winning companies offer a fantastic work culture and workplace environment that attract and retain superior employees,” said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO of NABR and The Best and Brightest Program.
To see all winners of the 2022 National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, click here.

About Consulting Solutions
Consulting Solutions (www.consultingsolutions.com) is a nationally recognized leader in technology solutions and services. Consulting Solutions’ key practice areas include Agile Development, Application Development, Advanced Analytics, Cloud & Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Delivery Leadership, and ERP (SAP & Oracle). Our scalable engagement models—from individual technology consultants to strategic enterprise programs—enable clients to tap into world-class talent, expertise, and services to drive technology and enterprise transformation initiatives. Consulting Solutions was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, the SIA Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms in the U.S. and SIA Largest Staffing Firms in the U.S., and was the recipient of ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing for both Client and Talent Satisfaction.

iBridge will be a standalone division of Consulting Solutions and will continue to focus on providing technology services and workforce solutions in the St. Louis, Missouri area

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — July 7, 2022 — Consulting Solutions, a portfolio company of White Wolf Capital (“White Wolf”), today announced the acquisition of iBridge Solutions, LLC (“iBridge”), an information technology consulting firm with over 20 years of experience supporting some of the nation’s largest companies, including a loyal base of blue-chip customers. iBridge is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

The addition of iBridge’s clientele and consulting talent will continue to strengthen Consulting Solutions’ market position as one of the fastest-growing providers of workforce solutions and consulting services in North America. iBridge will become a standalone division of Consulting Solutions and will continue to focus on providing value-added services in the St. Louis area in contract, contract to hire, direct-hire placement, and Statement of Work across a range of technologies.

“We are pleased to welcome the iBridge team into the Consulting Solutions family of companies,” said Corry Doyle, Managing Director of White Wolf Capital. “Like our other organizations, iBridge’s business model is customer-centric and based on providing exemplary IT consulting services and workforce solutions that enable digital transformation initiatives. We’re excited about this expansion to our team as well as the cultural synergies shared with iBridge.”

“iBridge’s superior services and commitment to its clients, consultants, and employees align closely with our own values,” said Michael Werblun, CEO of Consulting Solutions. “We look forward to the path ahead as we continue to grow our organization through strategic acquisitions of IT service organizations that share our principles and devotion to technology innovation and expertise. In turn, iBridge customers will have access to an even broader range of consultant talent and service offerings through our lineup of companies.”

“iBridge is proud to become part of the Consulting Solutions team and family of brands, which offer the same integrity and focus on customer satisfaction as our own organization,” said Craig Boren, Cofounder of iBridge. “We’re excited to better serve our long-time customers by providing broader services in partnership with the rest of the Consulting Solutions portfolio. We view this acquisition as a continuation of the iBridge story and the next chapter in our continual mission to raise the bar in terms of our consulting and service offerings dedicated to client success.”

About iBridge
iBridge was founded in 2000 to provide information technology staffing services to Fortune 1000 clients, rapidly developing a reputation as a well-established and respected IT staffing firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that can provide quality candidates who deliver hard-to-find skillsets and drive successful client outcomes. iBridge’s clients span numerous industries, including Consumer Products, Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, and Government.

About Consulting Solutions
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Consulting Solutions (www.consultingsolutions.com) is a nationally recognized leader in technology solutions and services. Consulting Solutions’ key practice areas include Agile Development, Application Development, Advanced Analytics, Cloud & Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Delivery Leadership, and ERP. Our scalable engagement models—from individual technology consultants to strategic enterprise programs—enable clients to tap into world-class talent, expertise, and services to drive technology and enterprise transformation initiatives. Consulting Solutions was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, the SIA Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms in the U.S. and SIA Largest Staffing Firms in the U.S. and was recognized as ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing for both Client and Talent Satisfaction.

About White Wolf
White Wolf is a private investment firm that began operations in late 2011 and is focused on making both direct and indirect investments in leading middle market companies located in North America. On the direct side, White Wolf seeks both private equity as well as private credit investment opportunities in companies with $20 million to $200 million in revenues and up to $20 million in EBITDA. Typical situations include management buyouts, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and investments for growth. Preferred industries include Manufacturing, Business Services, Government Services, Staffing, Security, Aerospace, and Defense. In addition to making direct investments in operating companies, White Wolf also looks to invest with other private fund managers as a limited partner. Targeted investment candidates are North American-focused private credit funds looking to raise $50 million to $500 million in assets under management, with a focus on the lower-middle and middle-market. For further information, please visit: www.whitewolfcapital.com.

Empyrean will operate as a standalone division while giving its clients access to additional technology expertise through the Consulting Solutions family of companies

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — May 18, 2022 — Consulting Solutions, a portfolio company of White Wolf Capital (“White Wolf”), today announced the acquisition of Empyrean Services and The Empyrean Group, leading providers of consulting services to the nuclear and non-nuclear power-generation industries.

Based in Pittsburgh, Pa., Empyrean Services, LLC (“Empyrean Services”) and The Empyrean Group, LLC (“The Empyrean Group”, collectively, “Empyrean”) are providers of consulting services to the nuclear and non-nuclear power industries with a loyal base of blue-chip customers. Empyrean will become a standalone division of Consulting Solutions that will provide a wide array of skilled engineering resources with expertise across a variety of traditional energy and nuclear projects.

“We are pleased to welcome the Empyrean team into the Consulting Solutions family of companies,” said Corry Doyle, Managing Director of White Wolf Capital. “For more than two decades, Empyrean’s leadership and highly skilled teams have built an organization focused on helping their clients deploy innovative, cutting-edge solutions. We are excited to be able to provide Empyrean’s clients with access to expansive technology expertise that is available throughout the Consulting Solutions family of companies.”

“Welcoming Empyrean to the Consulting Solutions family of companies was an easy decision due to the cultural synergies between the two companies,” said Michael Werblun, CEO of Consulting Solutions. “Empyrean is an organization that is relationship driven and client centric with an unwavering commitment to its internal teams and consultants. These traits align perfectly with Consulting Solutions’ core values, and we will continue to grow this new, larger organization on these shared principles.

“Empyrean’s deep history of providing leading solutions to the nuclear industry is unparalleled. The addition of Empyrean’s services portfolio, clients, and consultant talent represents a new phase in Consulting Solutions’ growth strategy by extending the firm’s strategy of providing leading workforce solutions and consulting services to the energy-generation industry,” added Werblun.

“I am very excited about Empyrean being a part of the Consulting Solutions family of companies. We share common values with a deep sense of responsibility for our employees as well as our clients,” said Sushil Jain, founder of Empyrean. “With support from Consulting Solutions, I am confident that Empyrean will be able to further augment its presence and establish itself as a major player in this sector.”

Empyrean was advised by Stone Pier Capital Advisors, a boutique investment banking firm based in Pittsburgh, Pa.

About Empyrean

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., Empyrean Services is a premier engineering, technical, and project management company operating primarily through a captive pool of nuclear technicians, engineers, scientists, and executives that provides services to both the commercial nuclear energy industry in North America and US Department of Energy (DOE) Complex facilities. Empyrean Services works across the spectrum from Small Modular Reactors (SMR) to the design and construction of new advanced reactors and provides support services for the decommissioning of both commercial and research nuclear reactors.

The Empyrean Group provides non-nuclear, energy-related engineering, technical, and project management services to Utilities, Regulated and Merchant Power Generation, Renewables, Oil and Gas, and Petrochemical companies nationwide.

About Consulting Solutions

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Consulting Solutions (www.consultingsolutions.com) is a nationally recognized leader in technology solutions and services. Consulting Solutions’ key practice areas include Agile Development, Application Development, Advanced Analytics, Cloud & Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Delivery Leadership, and ERP (SAP, UKG, & Oracle). Our scalable engagement models—from individual technology consultants to strategic enterprise programs—enable clients to tap into world-class talent, expertise, and services to drive technology and enterprise transformation initiatives. Consulting Solutions was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, the SIA Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms in the U.S. and SIA Largest Staffing Firms in the U.S., and was recognized as ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing for both Client and Talent Satisfaction.

About White Wolf

White Wolf is a private investment firm that began operations in late 2011 and is focused on making both direct and indirect investments in leading middle market companies located in North America. On the direct side, White Wolf seeks both private equity as well as private credit investment opportunities in companies with $20 million to $200 million in revenues and up to $20 million in EBITDA. Typical situations include management buyouts, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and investments for growth. Preferred industries include Manufacturing, Business Services, Government Services, Staffing, Security, Aerospace, and Defense. In addition to making direct investments in operating companies, White Wolf also looks to invest with other private fund managers as a limited partner. Targeted investment candidates are North American-focused private credit funds looking to raise $50 million to $500 million in assets under management, with a focus on the lower-middle and middle-market. For further information, please visit: www.whitewolfcapital.com.

Empyrean’s Director of Business Development, Darrell Williams, attended the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association’s (PIOGA) Spring 2022 meeting on April 6th at the Rivers Casino.

Sponsored by The Empyrean Group, the meeting featured speaker’s Asim Haque (PJM Interconnection), William Watson (Shell Polymers), as well as Eugene Yaw, PA State Senator from the 23rd District, who discussed the important role oil and gas plays into the overall state economy.  Additional speakers addressed such important issues as Innovation, Senate and Gubernatorial Races, LNG, and hiring and retaining the next generation of energy employees.

The Empyrean Family of Companies, Empyrean Services (Nuclear) and The Empyrean Group (Non-Nuclear), experienced strong revenue growth in 2021, and looks to continue this trend in 2021.

As the SMR and Advanced Reactor technologies continue to grow and evolve, Empyrean Services is being asked to take an increasing role in supporting its clients with the best talent that the nuclear energy industry has to offer.  Additionally, we continue to see strong activity at Vogtle 3-4, and at our decommissioning sites.

The Empyrean Group experienced exciting 2021 growth in the area of oil and gas, and our fossil generation activity continues to show strong revenues.  With the price of natural gas and coal continuing the stun the conventional energy sector, the obvious increasing national reliance on these conventional energy sources is sure to demand professional staffing services to help manage workforce capacity.

For positions we are currently sourcing, be sure to check out our career page.