CompTIA Blog

As I sat in the Industry Panel discussion – the first big general session at Breakaway 2010 – I heard two discussions: the evolving implementation of technology solutions as hybrid clouds and the need for solution providers to devise and implement better structured businesses.The analyst panelists were in near universal agreement that technology is progressively moving toward cloud services, but debated the extent to which and when the cloud will consume all of traditional IT products. Ryan Morr ...

Service providers don’t need to drop all their on-premise solutions in favor of new cloud-based options, but they do need to position themselves to start investigating cloud computing opportunities, an IT industry research panel said at CompTIA Breakaway today.“2011 is the year to experiment and figure this out and look into the different offerings,” said Darren Bibby, program director at IDC, to an audience of primarily solution providers.Customers likely will continue to use a hybrid of on-pre ...

Breakaway brings you the best of tools for VARs and MSPs, but there’s also a whole track of sessions dedicated to the certification audience.  Hear about the new academic version of the CompTIA Authorized Partner Program (CAPP), an introduction to the Getting America Back to Work initiative, plus updates from Academic Advisory Council members. Technology educators need access to the most current information to keep their skills sharp. CompTIA has launched several online resources for educators.  ...

Breakaway brings you the best of tools for VARs and MSPs, but there’s also a whole track of sessions dedicated to the certification audience.  Hear about the new academic version of the CompTIA Authorized Partner Program (CAPP), an introduction to the Getting America Back to Work initiative, plus updates from Academic Advisory Council members. Technology educators need access to the most current information to keep their skills sharp. CompTIA has launched several online resources for educators.  ...

Breakaway has begun.  The golfers teed off this morning for the Creating Futures Charity Golf Classic.  Catch the photos of the golfers heading to the tees. More than 1,000 IT channel leaders are expected this week at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.  It’s gorgeous here, folks.  If you’re not here, you’re missing out.  I’ll post photos of the beautiful scenery later today just to show you what you’re missing.  But really, jump in your car or hop on a plane and head over.Bey ...

As the U.S. economy continues to recover, TEKsystems, a leading technology staffing and services company, found that more organizations are feeling increasingly optimistic about their contingent hiring for the next quarter. While 23 percent of companies planned to increase their temporary IT hiring in the second quarter of this year, according to TEKsystems research, 29 percent plan to do so in the third quarter. TEKsystems, a Breakaway sponsor (Booth #708), helps clients successfully plan, buil ...

A look at the week of August 2, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channel The Energy Department reported that the electrical grid is plagued with holes threatening national security, while studies cited by The Economist find that cyber-crime accounts for a loss of over $1 billion annually.  Across the country, states have begun to seek guidance on how best to implement health IT to improve deteriorating healthcare infrastructure. Lastly, legislation directed at small businesses has stal ...

Welcome to the first installment of the “Channel-Lands,” a weekly review of the top news stories, trends and events in the channel. Each week, I’ll comb through the leading channel and technology publication websites for the big and significant stories you may have missed while servicing your customers and building profitable businesses. I welcome your suggestions for stories and issues that should be included in “Channel-Lands.”Google Can’t Catch the WaveSeveral channel pubs noted the demise of ...

The Breakaway announcements just keep coming – all new tools and applications to help the IT channel increase business and launch into new markets.  Check out our latest round-up of Breakaway news:The Enterprise Mobility Solutions division of Motorola Inc. (Booth #504) added to its mobile computing portfolio with the ES400 global Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA). The ES400’s integrated voice and data capabilities empower mobile professionals with the information and interaction they need to tr ...

The Breakaway announcements just keep coming – all new tools and applications to help the IT channel increase business and launch into new markets.  Check out our latest round-up of Breakaway news:The Enterprise Mobility Solutions division of Motorola Inc. (Booth #504) added to its mobile computing portfolio with the ES400 global Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA). The ES400’s integrated voice and data capabilities empower mobile professionals with the information and interaction they need to tr ...

Every couple of years a new focus seems to envelop the channel, with managed services and cloud computing getting a majority of the buzz until earlier in 2010. Healthcare IT is all the rage in the industry and, like the two previously mentioned topics, there’s a real business opportunity behind it.  When President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February of 2009, it set the wheels in motion. Approximately $17 billion was set aside as incentive payments to en ...

Each August during Breakaway, the CompTIA Educational Foundation presents its Creating Futures Awards to IT and philanthropic leaders. These leaders have gone above and beyond to support Creating Futures which provides free IT training and certification opportunities to populations who have historically been under-represented in the IT workforce, including U.S. military veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, minorities, at-risk youth and dislocated workers. This year, we’re honoring: Ri ...

Looks like creativity and IT go hand in hand.  We asked you to submit your three-minute videos for our PitchIT contest for Breakaway, showcasing the best new products and businesses in the IT channel.  Your videos were creative and entertaining, but most importantly, you showed us that you can sell IT. Our top eight finalists based on vote count (note, we took away votes received repeatedly from the same IP address as we talked about in our voting scandal post) are…drum roll, please:Coolest New ...

At last the mighty task is done;Resplendent in the western sunThe Bridge looms mountain high;Its titan piers grip ocean floor,Its great steel arms link shore with shore,Its towers pierce the sky. These words were penned in 1937 upon completion of the Golden Gate Bridge by chief engineer Joseph Straus. The poem captures both the vision and grandeur of this modern marvel; considered one of the finest civil engineering achievements of the 20th century. What is most remarkable about the bridge is th ...

Our Breakaway show floor is teaming with special offers and new product launches for the IT channel.  Check out our latest daily round-up of who and what to see next week in San Antonio.This year the current U.S. capital gains tax rate is due to expire on 12/31/2010. Most observers in the merger and acquisition industry are estimating that business owners will have to forfeit an additional 5-10 percent of their business equity if a sale of their business does not complete by the end of the year. ...