CompTIA Blog

I just returned from a two-week trip to Asia, stopping in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Toyko, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Frankfurt and then back to Chicago. Along the way I ran speed tests on Internet access speeds at each hotel where we stayed. The results verified a lot of what I’d noticed anecdotally on prior trips to the region. They also demonstrate, that regardless of what you read and hear, the U.S. has the absolute best, most affordable and widely available Inte ...

Privacy and security issues are said to be among the chief concerns for healthcare administrators facing new HIPPA regulations and a ramped-up electronic health record (EHR) incentive program. A new study, however, indicates that many of those executives are failing to “walk the walk.” In a report by consulting firm CSC, a HIMSS shows that fewer than half of large healthcare organizations - 47 percent - in the U.S. conduct annual security risk assessments and nearly six in ten didn’t dedicate ...

Take-away of the week is a weather report: More clouds are forming on the horizon in the world of IT services. Organizations big and small are having to adapt as will the technicians of today and tomorrow. Survey: IT as a Service Gaining Headwind Based on findings of a recent survey by F5 Networks, the enterprise trend toward IT services on demand, in the cloud, ITaaS or catchy name of your choosing, will continue to get a stranglehold on the industry in the next few years. Nearly 75 percent ...

With the current buzz surrounding cloud, mobility computing and other transformative technologies, a key group of players within the IT channel seems to be taking a back seat. Despite the shift in technology business models and continued infringement from consumer electronics, distribution is still a crucial element of most solution providers’ businesses. And it will likely remain that way for quite some time, but its role is in a state of transition. Another sign of that transformation could be ...

The President’s $447 Billion jobs bill, S. 1660, the “American Jobs Act of 2011,” failed to garner the votes needed to move forward.  By a margin of 50-49, the Senate vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.This jobs bill was made particularly unpopular to most Republicans after Senate leadership changed the funding mechanism to a “millionaire surtax.”  Basically, this millionaire surtax would have required individuals to pay an additional 5.6-percent surtax on incomes in ex ...

Each time I meet with a new service provider, we discuss whether or not they should focus on a specific vertical based upon their previous success in that area. Without a doubt, going vertical can help your organization focus its attention, which begins with developing a plan for the new line of business (such as healthcare).  The key to success will be in how well aligned your resources are for that market. Let’s take a quick look at the needs of the healthcare market and see if yo ...

A look at the week of October 9 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, the White House ordered a review of policies regarding classified information.  A Republican task force has developed cybersecurity recommendations that could be acted on in the upcoming year.  The House Homeland Security subcommittee held a hearing to examine the security implications of cloud computing.White House Orders New Computer Security Rules — The White House issued an executive order to replace a flawed p ...

CompTIA member Frank Raimondi recently was named World Wide Channel Alliance Manager for Intel, returning after several years of innovation with other channel organizations. His resume is long on experience, including his previous roles at Intel and serving as a vice president with SYNNEX, as well as CEO of NASBA (The Association of Channel Resellers).Raimondi also has been an active member in CompTIA during that time, helping forge a number of initiatives with the IT Services and Support Commun ...

According to the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in the U.K., small and medium enterprises represent 99.9 percent of the 4.8 million U.K. private sector enterprises and account for more than 49 percent of the private sector revenue. Clearly these smaller firms form a significant component of the U.K. economy, and recent data from CompTIA’s U.K. Small and Medium Enterprise Technology Trends study shows that they have a dependence on technology as a way of bringing expanded capa ...

Diana Nyad is one of those people put on Planet Earth to make the rest of us look lazy.At age 62, Nyad recently attempted for the third time to swim the 103 nautical miles from Cuba to Florida.Her first two attempts ended short of the goal. She met with mishaps such as bad storms, an asthma attack and a shoulder injury.This time, things started out a lot more encouraging. A shark that threatened to put a stop to her swim got rebuffed by her helpful team. Her shoulder was strong; she was averagin ...

Earlier this week, Congressman Fred Upton, chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a bipartisan letter to the General Accountability Office to “to examine the government’s role in addressing cybersecurity challenges.” Rep. Upton asked that the GAO to “identify actions taken by the appropriate federal agencies to address cybersecurity challenges; security features, potential vulnerabilities, or existing problems on consumer products and services; and main non-U.S. suppl ...

This week’s take-away would seem to be when one gathers facts pointing to a positive trend in the IT labor market in the coming year, plan to face the flip side for the future the following week. Hence. . . The Cloud Could Rain on Tomorrow’s IT Staffing Trends An oversized, centralized IT department is a relic in this day and age of cloud computing and mobile technology, according to reports out of a recent technical conference. The IT department of 2015 will have fewer full-time staffers, mo ...

I grew up and remain a computer agnostic. I've built, bought, used and sold nearly 100 computers in my life, but there has always been something amazingly special and unique about Apple products. For me, they've always held a certain indescribable magic I couldn't and still can't ignore. The years when Steve Jobs was away from Apple, the company frequently lost its way because the magic that was Steve Jobs went with him as he built NeXT and Pixar.But when he returned for what would be his final ...

With the premature passing of Steve Jobs, the tributes quickly filled the airways and social media sites. Many highlighted the technology that Apple introduced over the years, from the original Macintosh to the latest iPhone. But overall, many of the posts missed the real innovation that their founder brought to the world: a quality user experience.While Jobs and his partners were instrumental in introducing personal computers to the masses, the company eventually went in a much different direct ...

This will only take a moment: Vote online right now and bring significant attention to an innovative program that readies inner-city high schoolers for tech careers.Chicago Tech Academy is one of 75 finalists (out of 400 nominees!) for the Chicago Innovation Awards. Today it needs your help to get to the top 10.CompTIA and the Creating IT Futures Foundation have been supporting the school for several years. Placing in the Top 10 would give the school even more valuable publicity so it can attrac ...