The MassTLC Tech Top 50 celebrates tech companies and leaders across the region who have made a significant impact in the community during the past 12 month. This year, we are excited to recognize winners across 8 categories: Best Pivot to Meet the New World, Business Accomplishment, Company Culture, Inclusivity Impact, Leadership, New Company of the Year, Tech for Good: Social Responsibility, and Tech to Watch.
Forty-nine honorees were chosen across these categories, with the final recognition, the Mosaic Award, given to Chevalier “Chevy” Cleaves, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of MIT Lincoln Laboratory, for his work creating access and opportunity for future leaders. View the full list of winners, here.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing more about each of the recipients to spotlight their accomplishments and their impact on customers, partners, employees, and the broader community.
Today, meet NETSCOUT, one of this year’s honorees for Tech for Good: Social Responsibility.
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What program(s) have you created/supported in the past year (since May 2020) that have given back to the community? And who/what has been impacted?
We offered two global campaigns to support employee giving in response to the pandemic and racial justice issues, completed 18 team volunteer projects (in-person and virtual) and sharpened our corporate giving to focus on organizations working to address the issue of digital inclusion and equity. This led to our partnership with Boston-based Tech Goes Home, which was a cash grant of grant of $100K to support 160 households in Roxbury, MA. In addition, employees around the world volunteered to both create and translate tutorials for their digital learning courses.
Both the Tech Goes Home learners, as well as NETSCOUT employees, have been impacted by this partnership. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tech Goes Home’s long-standing model of in-person digital learning pivoted to a virtual learning model, creating the urgent need for new online resources to support their network of 180 partner organizations and 200 instructors, and to help families use digital tools to meet their basic needs from home.
NETSCOUT’s desire to volunteer aligned with Tech Goes Home’s immediate need for tutorials to support their learners. The tutorial project was a perfect fit for NETSCOUT’s skill set and an opportunity for NETSCOUT employees to better understand the Tech Goes Home program and use their expertise to support TGH learners.
Why did your company choose to implement this program(s)
Our CEO, Anil Singhal, in an email to all NETSCOUT employees in June 2020, expressed his grave distress over the social injustice experienced by black communities and pledged to show solidarity and support for them with specific actions. Subsequently, our Heart of Giving team launched a search for a worthwhile cause where we could put our solidarity into action. As Guardians of the Connected World, we chose to focus on the persistent digital divide, initially in the Boston area, as our target. We found the perfect partner in Tech Goes Home.
What measurable success has this program(s) achieved?
In Tech Goes Home’s digital inclusion programs, each participating household completes 15 hours of digital skills training, earning a new Chromebook or iPad, and, if needed, internet service.
NETSCOUT’s initial $100,000 grant funded 160 families and individuals through the Tech Goes Home digital learning skills programs at the Vine Street Community Center and the Adult Learning Center/Boston Central Adult High School in Roxbury MA. To date, 32 volunteers from 14 NETSCOUT offices/home office locations (California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas in the US, and Australia, Bangalore, Brazil, France, Mexico, Spain, and the UK) produced 29 new tutorials and translated 60 existing written tutorials into five languages (Chinese, French, Hindi, Portuguese and Spanish).
What does it mean to be recognized with the other Tech Top 50 honorees?
Congratulations to all the honorees! It’s wonderful to be part of a vibrant tech ecosystem that is committed to ensuring our local communities thrive. We’re delighted to be recognized and would like to thank all of our Guardians, who bring our social impact programs to life.
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Learn more about Tech Top 50 and meet all the winners, here.
