CompTIA Blog

We all (or at least most of us) want to be the best at what we do. This holds true even for those who perform IT services and manage IT services organizations.  I remember the sense of pride we had in my service department, which went far beyond a paycheck. Overtime was the norm for our group, and customer dissatisfaction personally upset the people I worked with. That pride was an intangible asset that the companies I outsourced to usually understood within the first month or two of our engagem ...

Is your technology business the best kept secret in town?  You have great staff, faithful customers, operations second to none, but what’s keeping it from growing?  Quite simply — leads. You know many businesses are an ideal fit to utilize your products and services, but how do you find them?  Without good leads, your sales team will be less effective and your company’s revenue will likely remain flat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Lead generation is not a black art and does not need to be ...

According to managed print services (MPS) research company Photizo Group, the total MPS market in North America and Western Europe will be $26.7 billion by 2012, and it will account for 35% of the total imaging market, rising significantly from the 14% it held in 2007.Ed Crowley, CEO of the Photizo Group, previews what opportunities are available to resellers in this growing market and discusses some common myths about MPS and what it really is.Gain an understanding of the MPS business model thr ...

Got a good business book you've loved or are really into this week?  Let us know about it.We're starting up a new book club, the CompTIA BookBuzz,  devoted to members and industry event participants.  We'll pick books to help you become a better leader, manage your people more effectively and grow your company.  Tell us what some of your favorite books are.  Which ones have helped you become more successful?The first book BookBuzz is reading and discussing is Daniel Pink's Drive: The Surprising ...

Note: This is the seventh of eight blog entries in which I examine managed services best practices identified in the CompTIA MSP Partners 2010 market research.Henry Ford once quipped “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black”. In a world of “half-caf skim latte – hold the foam”, the industrialist’s quote may seem like a quaint memory of years gone past—but it is actually an insightful observation on business. It speaks to the importance of repeatability, ...

I’ve always been a bit of a leadership / management book junkie. I’ve probably ready Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People five or six times and every time I do I come away with a new nugget or perspective I didn’t know was there. Another book I’ve recommended a bunch of times over the course of my career is from Kenneth Blanchard. It’s one of the One Minute Manager series called The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey. If you ever meet someone who has never managed people befo ...

A large part of the industry's growth hinges on solution providers being able to migrate their business models to newer models.  Specifically, they must be able to identify and solve end users' business problems, understand vertical and unique market segments, and incorporate newer technologies into their solutions mix.This is one of many points CompTIA's Vice-President for Channel Strategies, Annette Taber, makes in this featured podcast.  Annette will be hosting a luncheon session at Breakaway ...

It seems like every time you turn around, a new device or technology is capturing the attention of the business world (as well consumers). Unfortunately, each seems to bring with it a new IT security threat requiring additional diligence on the part of users, and expertise from channel partners. Take Apple’s iPad as a prime example. Before it had even launched, concerns were circulating about its weak Wi-Fi encryption, lack of device wipe features, and susceptibility to malware through the iTune ...

What if a construction company decided to repeatedly add new floors to a building without reviewing the strength of the current structure? The potential for a major catastrophe (collapse) will escalate exponentially with each new block or board added to the infrastructure. That’s why they test and evaluate the current situation (building) before designing the next steps. The same philosophy should be applied to a business’ financial situation; get a full evaluation of the organization’s fiscal m ...

With SaaS and cloud computing capturing the attention of the IT industry and the community at large, significant issues are moving to the forefront. Security, downtime, connection speeds, and legal compliance concerns all need to be addressed while adoption continues to climb. In order for the IT channel to provide quality service and support of cloud computing, education and related resources must be developed, and a dialogue among industry constituents is a great place to start.CompTIA and its ...

Five more weeks until we meet at Breakaway in San Antonio.  For me, that means I got 5 weeks to figure out who I want to see, which sessions will mean the most to my business and which vendors might have the best opportunities for helping me make new profits.  It also means I've got 5 weeks to lose another 8 pounds -- in my "get healthy" bet with some other colleagues.I'm not sure MyBreakaway can help me keep from raiding the refrigerator at midnight or splurging on ice cream at the pool, but I ...

In business, you must have your elevator pitch down.  Most of the time you get a max of 30 seconds to catch someone's attention.Got your pitch down?  Now can you take it to a video level? Let's put it to the test.  Attendees and sponsors at Breakaway, grab a video camera and pitch your company, new product, innovative solution or recently announced application in 3 minutes or less.  Do you have what it takes to differentiate yourself from the competition?Vendor sponsors, your submissions should ...

Let’s flash back to the 1980s, when channel resellers were receiving healthy margins selling OEM equipment to small and mid-sized businesses. Over time, those profit percentages were eroded by competitive forces and manufacturers looking to improve their bottom line. That was one factor that caused many resellers to evolve their business model, becoming VARs (value added resellers). In this adaptation of the IT channel, providers gradually discovered increased profitability not from the sale of ...

Note: This is the sixth of eight blog entries in which I examine managed services best practices identified in the CompTIA MSP Partners 2010 market research.We’ve all heard the expression “it takes money to take money” and tacitly nod our head in agreement; best in class MSPs don’t simply concur, they pull out their wallets and invest in building a world class services practice. Our 2010 research clearly shows that the most successful MSPs spend more of their top line revenue (as a percentage) o ...

After incorporation, many small businesses make a federal tax election know as a “subchapter S” election; these businesses are then typically referred to as an “S corporation”.  The benefit of an S corporation election is that the entity can “pass-through” corporate income, losses, deductions and credits to its shareholders. That is, the shareholders pay the applicable federal tax at their individual tax rates; the corporation itself does not pay a tax (except in some situations such as built-in ...