CompTIA Blog

As a young man growing up, I followed many sports stars: Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalgish, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, but my sporting inspiration was Zinedine Zidane. He was so naturally gifted and so intelligent with the ball. This week, I found inspiration not with footballers, but at youngsters no more than 18 years old who won the apprentice of the year awards at the Zenos annual conference, where I also had the pleasure of presenting my view on the “Evolution of IT, Jobs and Learning”.Ze ...

Takeaway of the week is it’s always best to toot your own horn when it comes to highly sought value you can add to an organization, because who knows when someone else would do it for you. And don’t look now, but it’s another voice trumpeting the ‘rise of the machines,’ but could it be with an IT silver lining? SME Branding? Toot Your Own Horn Subject matter experts shouldn’t wait around for anybody but themselves to tout that value-add expertise to the outside world, so says an executive fro ...

Just a few short years ago, protecting a client’s data was like building a moat around a castle. A circle of security kept all the systems locked down tight, with few things accessible outside a company’s intranet. To most, that may seem to be an extremely conservative (and naïve) approach from years past, but some organizations still follow that principle for guarding their infrastructure.Of course, that strategy is a difficult one to defend in 2011. The onslaught of smart phones, tablets, netb ...

GFI Software announced that it has acquired Monitis, the pioneer of cloud-based network and systems monitoring solutions. This acquisition further strengthens GFI’s ability to provide affordable end-to-end systems monitoring for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and to be a one-stop shop for managing heterogeneous IT infrastructures, be they on-premise, hosted or in the cloud.“The acquisition shows our commitment to expanding our solutions and helping our customers succeed in the rapid up ...

It’s not always easy for solution providers to get the training they need, between logistics challenges and scheduling conflicts that need to be resolved in order to participate in remote locations. The time required for travel and class instruction can wreak havoc on a company’s operations, since their clients’ support needs are rarely constant. Even the largest VARs and MSPs run into scheduling conflicts when attempting to balance training needs with the normal work load and emergency issues.T ...

A look at the week of October 24 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, the Obama Administration rounded up representatives from government agencies and congressional committees to press for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation this year.  Cybersecurity spending in defense IT budgets is expected to accelerate, especially in the event of a cyberattack.  Small businesses are found to be the most vulnerable to cyberattacks.Obama Officials Press for Cybersecurity Bill in Classified Bri ...

If you are planning to attend the CompTIA EMEA Conference on Tuesday, November 8th, you can register for one of the special sessions hosted by Cisco networking authority Todd Lammle, author of Sybex’s CompTIA Network+ Study Guide. Wireless Mobile Networks…  Mobility in Motion and What You Must KnowLearn how cross-layer feedback, along with other exciting new capabilities and innovations built into Mobility in Motion, work to create the “smart grid” of cutting edge wireless mobile networks. Todd ...

THE DAY BEFORE THE EXAM 1) Know the address and phone number of the testing center, and how you will get there, and how much time it will take to reach the testing center site. 2) Get a good night’s sleep before the exam   THE DAY OF THE EXAM 1) Eat a balanced breakfast, including some form of protein to give long-lasting energy. 2) Dress comfortably, in layers. 3) Give yourself plenty of travel time. 4) Bring the address of and directions to the testing site 5) Bring any needed ide ...

Congress continues to look at the complications of collecting sales taxes for interstate transactions completed via the Internet.  Earlier we discussed the Main Street Fairness Act, which would require interstate sellers to collect and remit sales taxes to the states into which sales are made.  Our concern with that legislation was that it failed to define a “small seller exception.”  Although the Main Street Fairness Act would require certain small sellers be exempted, this legislation would gi ...

One of the qualities that make the American political system unique is the access citizens have to their elected officials. James Madison himself set out the right to petition our government within the first amendment to our Constitution.  From town hall meetings to office visits, Americans have long seized the opportunity to speak their minds to those they elect to office. While the current political climate sometimes brings into question the value of one person’s voice, we at CompTIA believe t ...

The Deficit Reduction Super Committee and looming re-election campaigns have taken all the air of out of the room. It seems that despite best efforts by Congress to focus on reforming cybersecurity laws and regulations, the environment looks challenging for current proposals to pass during this legislative session. The Republican Cybersecurity Task Force, chaired by Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), recently issued its report with a list of recommendations for reforming the nation’s cybersecuri ...

A look at the week of October 17 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, the SEC updated a disclosure requirement to press companies to report data breaches and cyber attacks.  Agencies also are updating policies due to data breaches, requiring that contractors that handle personally identifiable information complete privacy training.  As politicians tout small businesses as the engines of job creation, the Small Business Administration looks into the facts and figures of these claims. ...

Earlier this week the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing entitled “Understanding Consumer Attitudes About Privacy.”  Subcommittee Chairman Bono Mack stated that “despite everything that I have heard in our previous hearings, I still remain somewhat skeptical right now of both industry and government. Frankly, I don’t believe industry has proven that it’s doing enough to protect American consumers, while government.  Unfortunately, tends to overreach whenever it com ...

While the old adage claiming that people use only about 10 percent of their brain has been disputed by a number of neurologists, most of them admit that man still uses just a fraction of its true capacity. Few really tap into the potential intellectual power they have available.You don’t have to be the next Einstein or Da Vinci to see the parallel to managed services tools. A couple of the keynotes from this week’s Tigerpaw User Conference emphasized the need for solution providers to create gre ...

As small businesses across the country continue to search for reliable sources of capital, Congress has fallen short of providing real solutions.  While there is no magic bullet that will free up much needed capital, there are some small steps that can be taken immediately to aid in capital formation for some small businesses.  H.R. 1070/S. 1544, the “Small Company Capital Formation Act of 2011” would reduce the filing and compliance burdens for certain small businesses that seek to raise capita ...