CompTIA Blog

To build upon our membership outreach initiatives, we’re introducing our Member Advocacy Spotlight, posting a unique outlook on how policy-related issues affect industry.  We’ll highlight a specific member and what they believe a certain law or policy might mean for their business.By keeping an open dialogue about what can be done in Washington, D.C., to improve our industry, we’re working with members to help get that accomplished.This post tackles how the 1099 reporting requirement will harm b ...

I have been a member of CompTIA in one form or another for the last 18 years and, I must admit, for the first year or two I was one of those guys who “just did not see the value” of the membership. My reseller business joined CompTIA in 1993 at the suggestion of our VP of Services. He thought that the Authorized Service Center Certification might help us stand out from the somewhat crowded break/fix IT services market, and I remember him commenting that “CompTIA was doing some interesting things ...

In my recent visits to Washington, D.C., I've noticed a not-so-subtle lack of appreciation for the role IT solution providers play in the IT industry and the U.S. economy in general. Manufacturing jobs are all the rage now. If a company isn't making a tangible product, producing patents or IP, they aren't getting noticed by lawmakers and federal agencies. Much of the structure of the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration was built around the manufacturing base. Look at t ...

At our Annual Member Meeting (AMM) this April in Chicago, we want you, our members, to walk away with solid advice on how to grow your business and find new market opportunities.  Through our community meetings and market research presentations, we know you’ll find some answers.  But the icing on the cake will be the keynote address by Daniel Burrus, CEO of Burrus Research.Don't miss keynoter Daniel Burrus at AMM.Burrus is one of the world's leading technology forecasters, corporate strategi ...

The channel is evolving to meet economic challenges and rapid changes in technology, but are women being squeezed out of the industry? According to the latest research, that would seem to be the case.  CompTIA is taking some steps to reverse the trend and appointed two influential professionals to chair the council that will put it into action. Other newsworthy IT channel issues involve the switch to notebooks for business use, with the movement away from desktop PCs, and an announcement that sh ...

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold hearings next week on the spending practices under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Broadband deployment. Witnesses have not been announced, but we expect representatives from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to be present, as well as recipients of the broadband deployment grants.This hearing may set the tone for the public policy discussion legislators will have in the coming months on issues ...

Cybersecurity continues to be an important issue on Capitol Hill.  Last week, Senate Majority Leader Reid introduced the Cyber Security and American Cyber Competitiveness Act of 2011.  Among the goals of the bill are to “safeguard critical infrastructure, including the electric grid, military assets, the financial sector and telecommunications networks. It urges incentives for the private sector to assess the risk of cyber terrorism and take action to prevent it and promote investments in the Am ...

CompTIA reached the next milestone in the development of a managed services credential with the successful completion of our Subject Matter Experts (SME) Workshop. For those of you unfamiliar with the topic, we're developing a credential that evaluates managed service providers and identifies those businesses that follow generally accepted standards or practices. This credential will set the bar for quality managed service provider organizations and act as a market differentiator for those compa ...

Much like cloud computing and managed services, healthcare IT has become an attractive practice for many IT service providers. Attention is on the rise due to the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which provided incentives for the implementation of health information technology. In turn, the tech community is responding to meet the demand. IT providers with experience supporting physicians’ offices, clinics and hospitals are using these incentives to f ...

The Chicago area snow storm is causing network outages for our phone, website and email. If you need help in the meantime, post to this blog or send us a direct message via Facebook or Twitter. Thanks for your patience.

Following up on the State of the Union address last week which focused on innovation, competitiveness and “winning the future”, the White House yesterday announced the Startup America Initiative.  Its mission, through a public/private partnership, is to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship across the nation.  Key components are: An SBA matching fund program that will commit $1 billion to an impact investment fund for growth companies located in underserved communities and $1 billion to an ear ...

A look at the week of January 31, 2011, in public advocacy for the IT channel Last week, technology played a key role in President Obama’s State of the Union address.  Senate Democrats reignited the debate over cybersecurity by introducing a cybersecurity placeholder bill.  The Senate bill repealing the 1099 tax provision in the healthcare law has reached a critical number of co-sponsors. Obama Plays Up Tech's Value in State of the Union —Technology heavily underpinned ...

With the New Year, we’re embarking on several new certification exams. Development is currently underway on two security exams (a new version of CompTIA Security+ and CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner), CompTIA Storage+ powered by SNIA, and credentials around healthcare IT. We all know how huge security is for the industry. CompTIA Security+ is the fastest growing exam in our history and continues to see growing demand from both the public and private sectors. (There are almost 160, ...

Today’s business world is all about connections – those essential relationships that help drive growth and profitability among successful companies. Consider the underpinnings of the technology market, with its tight ties between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and ultimately customers. Those partnerships are a must to success.One of the most critical relationships in our industry is that between vendors and IT channel partners. Perhaps nothing is more emblematic of that relationship than ...

Some prominent industry executives have jumped into new organizations and roles the past few weeks and, based on the vacancies created by these defections, additional switches could be on the way. This news is a great sign for solution providers, as several vendors looking to enhance their IT channel programs entice the skilled (and admired) leaders from competitors and other technology companies. With expanded roles and the ability to revamp partnership plans for their new employers, it will be ...