CompTIA Blog

Our new member forums, such as the IT Security Community, are generating some great discussions. In the most recent web meeting/conference call, the group of industry thought leaders (IT vendors, solution providers and tech security experts), moved the needle on some major topics. By joining a CompTIA community, members can engage with others with similar business needs, tacking projects that will advance the industry. The IT Security Community is focusing its efforts on a few key initiatives, i ...

Several days ago, an acquaintance of mine had to go to the ER.  To rule out the possibility of a larger problem, the doctor suggested they get a CAT scan.  Right away, even before the procedure, registration had come back with the bill, which was a large mortgage payment for 95% of the country.  That cost will likely be negotiated down through the insurance carrier, but will still likely be in the 4 figures.The procedure ruled out a serious problem, which was a major relief to all involved.  In ...

“Green shoots” may be sprouting in the economy as evidenced by an uptick in GDP, but unemployment looks to be stuck at near 10% for some time to come.  Economists cite many reasons for this “lagging indicator”, but too many CompTIA member companies know all too well why job creation is hard to come by. When you are a small or medium sized business, obtaining credit remains challenging, and therefore expansion and hiring is a scary proposition. Congress and the White House already have passed leg ...

It’s much more than a new name for an old technologyI chuckle every time I listen to a debate centered on cloud computing and SaaS being just new terms for an older application delivery system. People will go on for hours discussing the topic, and dismiss the real issue: The revolution is here, whether you like it or not, and solution providers and vendors need to understand how to make it work for their sales models.Many of you will remember the earlier versions of SaaS, either application serv ...

In recent years, I’ve noticed a trend – academic institutions increasingly adopting and adapting the best that the training industry has to offer. And that’s indeed a big change. No one would argue that educators retain the imperative to truly educate: to open students’ minds to new information, ideas and concepts, and (some would say most importantly) how to think – deductively AND creatively. Years ago (not that many!), I was in a position to make a donation of a comprehensive training curric ...

Note: This is the fourth of eight blog entries in which I examine managed services best practices identified in the CompTIA MSP Partners 2010 market research.In business school, we were informed of the challenges facing companies that are driven by great engineering. These organizations often had a laser-like focus on building great products with a mistaken belief that a great product sells itself. A quick look through the technology industry’s scrap yard would reveal some of these products: Son ...

I come from a family of entrepreneurs and have been personally involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures over the years. The things I have come to know about entrepreneurs is that we wear many hats, we rarely have adequate expertise in all of these areas of responsibility, and we are always short on resources (i.e. money!) to bring in the required expertise.In envisioning the CompTIA Member Resource Center, I saw it as an opportunity to create something that went beyond a few random templ ...

Greetings!  As the new vice president of Public Advocacy for CompTIA, I am really excited to be leading the reorganization of CompTIA’s public policy and advocacy efforts to better serve our more than 1,500 members and thousands of tech entrepreneurs who are creating jobs and powering the U.S. economy.Small and medium-sized (SMB) technology firms - and the many policy issues that concern them - have long been underrepresented in Washington.  The status quo is not acceptable.  So CompTIA has refo ...

I’ve had the opportunity to work with many innovative business owners over the years and, while their technological and service knowledge is vast, most are quick to acknowledge their understanding of business law is limited. Recognizing this problem is the first step, with a call to a reputable lawyer the typical response when a need arises. But what about the companies that have limited resources or those that wish to learn more about legal best practices on their own? While there are websites ...

I wrote a draft post last week that will never see the light of day.  In it, I sought to pay tribute to someone I respect very much for their intellect and world experience.  When I started my CIO gig, they imparted the following maxims:Think DefensivelyThink DeceitfullyProceed with Caution – at All TimesIt is good stuff that promotes great questions and discussion - I have had them printed out at my desk since Day 1.  In the post, I wrote a couple of points on each bullet, and thought I had som ...

I have a Google News Alert set up every day for the term ‘CIO.’  Besides the inclusion of AFL-CIO news (a topic on which I am now unintentionally well informed), there is a rotating series of articles around the role of the CIO that make the rounds.  From the last week, here are some of the articles relating to the job role of the CIO:CIOs ceding power to CFOs, survey finds Global CIO: Even Oracle & SAP Agree: The Tactical CIO Is Dead CFOs driving the IT spending bus, study says The New CIO ...

Saying that one’s head is in the clouds suggests that he or she is isolated and detached from the realities on the ground below them.  I suppose it could be interpreted as taking a high altitude view of something, but that wasn’t the impression I got when my teachers (and later, bosses) encouraged me to come back down to Earth. In that context, the clouds represent unrealistic ideas and expectations rather than high ideals and a visionary point of view.In tech parlance, the cloud refers to non-c ...

Note: This is the third of eight blog entries in which I examine managed services best practices identified in CompTIA MSP Partners’ 2010 market research.In a classic Simpsons’ episode Homer exclaims “Oh! I haven't changed since high school and suddenly I am uncool.” Ah yes Homer, things change over time even if we don’t! Our second managed services best practice counters that common mindset; Best-in-Class MSPs develop and deploy new technology solutions to keep pace with the industries their cu ...

There is more to following best practices than just using common sense.If you ran a restaurant, you’d certainly follow best practices pertaining to the cleanliness of your food prep areas - as the last thing you want is for the Health Department to close you down!If you ran a brokerage house, you’d certainly follow best practices pertaining to trades, disclosures, and more - as the last thing you want is for the SEC to close you down!If you ran an accounting firm you’d certainly follow best prac ...

I was recently asked to contribute to an Information Week piece on the state of the US IT industry - which got me thinking about the United States’ technological strengths and weaknesses relative to the other players in the global IT landscape.  The US hasn’t been the dominant base for IT production for many years.  We still don’t graduate all the engineers and PhDs we need, we don’t have the fastest or furthest reaching broadband nor do we have the most Internet users per capita.However, the US ...