CompTIA Blog

Recently, CompTIA and the Congressional Caucus on Small Business IT held a briefing on the issue of lagging interest in IT-related careers by our nation’s youth. A group of concerned representatives from CompTIA, Congress and a panel of IT, education and small business experts set out to frame the issue and offer possible solutions. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), the co- chair of the Congressional Caucus on Small Business IT, gave opening remarks, discussing the IT industry’ ...

While CompTIA’s Breakaway has nearly a 30-year history in the channel, it is truly breaking new ground, offering the industry a powerful channel event, unlike any other -- and the industry is responding in a big way!  With the event just a week away (July 29 – Aug. 1 at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas),  CompTIA is looking forward to welcoming more than a thousand channel executives from solution provider, vendor, distributor, media and other channel organizations.   Breaking away from ...

Interest is growing in requiring all remote sellers to collect and remit sales taxes for products and services sold from State A to State B.  For a number of years, states have been concerned over the loss of revenue resulting from their inability to enforce payment of use taxes by residents who purchase products and services from an out of state vendor.  The solution around which most are rallying is to require out of state sellers to collect and remit the applicable tax, even if that business ...

When it comes to locking down your customers’ networks and critical data, the end goal is to prevent any intrusions or information loss. Obviously, with all the nefarious characters wreaking havoc on the Internet and sharing ideas on how to penetrate the various security measures that businesses (and individuals) employ, that’s objective is getting harder to accomplish. For every new threat prevention method, the bad guys seem to create multiple ways to get around them. It’s more than a game to ...

Takeaway of the week is it's hard to know who, or what, to trust. The future is bright for the IT job market. No, it's not. Oh yes, it is. Wait, maybe some of it is sunny and other parts are cloudy. No wonder the weather reporter always takes a beating from the public. Survey Says: Sunny Days for IT Job Seekers If you're equipped with IT training and in need of employment, consider yourself luckier than most job seekers, according to a new survey. More than half of the respondents to Career ...

A look at the week of July 16 in public advocacy for the IT channel: Republican governors have stopped their opposition to imposing state sales taxes on online purchases, which signifies the inevitable end of a no-tax Internet, says the Wall Street Journal. The Marketplace Fairness Act – which grants states the authority to tax “remote sellers” the same way they do local business – is long overdue, says the Washington Post. The Senate is going to consider a new cybersecurity bill next week, says ...

All CompTIA certification exams will now take place solely at Pearson VUE testing centers and no longer at Prometric testing centers. The goal of this change is to simplify the overall testing experience for all candidates who wish to take a CompTIA certification exam. If you have a Prometric exam voucher, it is now valid at Pearson VUE testing centers as long as it has not expired. You can schedule an appointment at Pearson VUE either in advance or on the day you choose to take the test, as l ...

The Senate has failed to reach the 60 votes needed to pass S. 2237, Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act.  The final vote was 53-44. This bill would have provided a few small business tax benefits including: A tax credit equal to 10% of the difference in the compensation paid to employees in 2012 over 2011; and The 100% bonus depreciation allowance for business would be extended.During floor consideration of the bill, an amendment offered by Republicans to substitute the House-passed H.R. 9 (s ...

Over the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to attend a variety of IT channel events, from the largest industry conferences to smaller, regional get-togethers. Regardless of the show’s size or number of associated activities, there never seems to be enough time to do everything you’d like to do (let alone everything you need to do).As an editor, I scheduled almost every waking minute at tradeshows for interviews, demos and networking. In order to accomplish that level of activity, the process ...

Takeaway of the week is in the form of a catch phrase from the old game show, "Family Feud," that goes, simply, "Survey says..." Yes, it's one survey after another coming out as we hit the midpoint of 2012, and most all indicators are that it's a good time to be a skilled IT professional on the hunt for a job. Depending on your skills and location, the growing job market just may find you first. Salary Survey: Good News for IT While not all is rosy in the IT job market, compensation in one a ...

A look at the week of July 9 in public advocacy for the IT channel: The optimism of small business owners took the largest month-to-month dive from May to June since June 2010, says the Washington Post. For the eleventh year in a row, the federal government has missed its goal of contracting out its business to small businesses, says the Washington Business Journal. A new government report showed that cyberattacks on U.S. energy companies, public water districts and other infrastructure faciliti ...

IT professionals worldwide can now buy certification exams directly from CompTIA, thanks to an expansion of the CompTIA Marketplace. The marketplace website now allows visitors to pick their country before browsing, which provides for more localized content and information. CompTIA customers in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong can now buy exams in local currency from sites with localized information. CompTIA introduced customized marketplace content for EMEA countri ...

CompTIA will make minor changes to the CompTIA Linux+ Powered by LPI exams this fall. The objective changes are reflected in the current exam objectives available for download and will be reflected in both CompTIA Linux+ exams, LX0-101 and LX0-102, by the end of August 2012. The CompTIA Linux+ Powered by LPI exam is a high-stakes, vendor-neutral certification that validates the fundamental knowledge and skills required of junior Linux administrators. The certification is the result of CompTIA ...

Regardless of which side of the issue you’re on, last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding the disputed sections of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 added greater urgency to EMR (electronic medical records) implementation, and a shot in the arm to those building a healthcare IT practice. Of course, those relying on federal legislation to drive business may be missing the real opportunities in doctors’ offices, clinics and other medical-related organizations: business improvement.The most succe ...

Air Force veteran Shawn Cooper and Navy veteran Jeremiah Mane followed different paths to the same point: After serving as IT network administrators while in the military, they turned to New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Orlando, FL, for IT certification training and job search assistance to launch their civilian IT careers.