CompTIA Blog

MSPs, VARs, vendors and other service providers converged in Toronto this morning for a meeting of the IT Services and Support Executive Forum. Excitement among the attendees was very high, with many expressing optimism at 2010 business and revenue prospects. This economic confidence was supported by the keynote presenter, Sebastien Ruest, Vice President of IDC Services and Technology Research. His discussion, From Virtualization to Cloud: Dealing with the Changing Economics of IT focused ...

After several cycles of tough international economic conditions, CompTIA’s IT Services and Support Executive Forum will highlight the industry opportunities at its first 2010 meeting in Canada. The event will be held today, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with many IT service leaders in attendance to discuss the emerging business trends and learn how the community can benefit from several new technologies. In addition, attendees will participate in workshops where current and new industry initi ...

It is hard to believe that a full decade has gone by from a time when fear, angst, and anxiety across many aspects of the channel was focused on the “what ifs” of Y2K. You would be hard pressed to pick up any publication and not see something about the Y2K situation. Here it is ten years later and, yes we survived Y2K, but there is a similar media storm these days about security as more vendors, channel partners, and end-users turn to the “cloud” for everything from storage/back up to financial ...

Something that has occupied a lot of my thinking lately is the development of an industry-wide standard for managed services.  No matter who I talk to, from large OEM manufactures to the smallest of service providers, each sees value in the development of a standard that clearly communicates an MSP’s managed services proficiency to their customers, partners and vendors.  A standard would significantly help promote managed services to end users, differentiate strong MSPs from the less qualified, ...

Good, timely information is valuable.  A recent trip to New York reminded me of this when my wife and I made a last minute decision to eat at a trendy restaurant in SoHo. After a quick call, I secured a table, but only if we could get were there in the next half hour.  I punched the restaurant’s address into my phone and, thanks to the magic of the internet, Google, GPS and my iPhone – I am provided with walking directions to the nearest subway station, the train to catch and when it will arrive ...

It seems to me that a good starting point of any managed services conversation is to agree just what managed services are.  Though there are a lot of definitions that have been floated in the technology field, I like the definition that we at CompTIA vetted in managed services research last Fall, based on its simplicity and directness. We have since taken this definition to several groups, including CompTIA’s new Managed Services Community, and it seems to be generally accepted.  I like it so mu ...

Xerox will sponsor the CompTIA Educational Foundation’s 2010 Creating Futures Charity Golf Classic and the First Annual Creating Futures Charity Miniature Golf tournament. Both events benefit the foundation’s Creating Futures program which provides IT training and certification opportunities to individuals in need, including military veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, minorities, at-risk youth and dislocated workers.“It’s simply a win-win for all that get involved with our events, a ...

Jean Mork Bredson of Service800 concluded the presentations at the IT Services and Support Executive Forum meeting with a ServiceMetric Benchmark Program Update. The 2009 Survey of approximately 250,000 service customers included queries on a variety of service-related questions. The study found a major shift in customer attitude concerning service, with response time usurping the former key goal of repair time. This suggests that reducing the time for initial contact will inversely increase c ...

Day two of the CompTIA IT Services and Support Executive Forum meeting is in full swing today, as the attendees concluded a networking breakfast and moved quickly into an update on public policies. The association represents the interests of IT services companies and communicates the top issues affecting the industry on a regular basis. With policy offices in Washington and Brussels, they have a global, national, and regional footprint, keeping community members informed of issues that could aff ...

The Computer Outlook Talk Show and the CompTIA Educational Foundation are launching a new talk show series that will discuss the training and educational opportunities available to underprivileged and under-represented individuals, who normally could not afford the training on their own to work in the IT industry. Each month will feature a specialized CompTIA guest who will share with Computer Outlook’s growing listening audience, information about educational programs to stimulate a productive ...

Prior to concluding the formal meeting sessions for day one in Tampa, the group held a lively interactive workshop to determine the key issues not being addressed by the services industry. This is always a great time to be in the meetings, to see the topics each company (and their representatives) is passionate about. With a varied audience of service providers, vendors, distributors, and parts logistics companies in one room, it tends to amplify the dialogue of this brainstorming session. ...

When you take on a new project and commit to a delivery date, how often are you able to meet that demand? As organizations grow and services/technologies get more complex, the task becomes even more difficult. Major project and service plans require a substantial amount of planning and painstaking attention to timelines, and the right people in charge to properly fulfill contract stipulations. These are the areas Michael Johnson of Insight Technology Solutions covered in his keynote at the CompT ...

After a round of personal introductions, attendees at the two-day IT Services and Support Executive Forum meeting in Tampa started out with an interactive discussion by Heather Clancy on “Refining Your IT Services Strategy: 10 Trends and Technologies.” The renowned technology author and former editor of Computer Reseller News (CRN) has written articles for Entrepreneur magazine, Fortune Small Business, and the New York Times, and collaborates with numerous companies on channel s ...

The phrase “in this difficult economy” is used so frequently these days that it has become a drinking game in some circles.  Count the number of times the phrase is used in your local evening newscast to see why it has become popular to raise a glass at every mention.But not everyone is drowning their economic sorrows at the local pub.  Many in the Value Added Reseller (VAR) community are busy leveraging the downturn to attract top talent and grow their businesses.  “During a downturn is the rig ...

The CompTIA IT Services and Support Executive Forum will kick off its first meeting of 2010 in Tampa later today, with a host of industry executives and thought leaders in attendance. The group heads to the “Sunshine State” with high expectations for the industry and many impactful topics on the schedule. For those of you familiar with the IT Services and Support Section, you’ll be happy to know that the group is the same, but with a new name and an enhanced commitment from C ...