CompTIA Blog

There is no shortage of blogs, especially within the IT industry.  This blog will be different.  As your trade association, we work hard to identify the issues that are most important to you and to deliver working solutions to your problems.  CompTIA Blog is where you can share your issues and find our solutions.You may be asking yourself "How is this blog unlike those hosted by for-profit channel solution providers?" As a not-for-profit trade association, we invest millions of dollars every yea ...

A cloud is rolling over the IT industry... a computing cloud that is!  Most believe that this cloud will hang over the IT industry for many years to come.  You may be thinking about the many new challenges this cloud presents.  Some common concerns include: How do I build trust in the security features of the cloud?  How do I integrate applications from various cloud providers?  Is a proprietary or affiliate business model best for me?  Do I have the technical and business skills needed to succe ...

Building trust with customers is key to building your business and improving the reputation of the IT industry.  So how does one attain trust in the marketplace?  Well, there are many ways to approach this often difficult task including building a close relationship with a customer over a long period of time, performing above and beyond expectations for a customer and being very careful with your billing practices. Another option is to obtain training and accreditation from a trusted, neutral tr ...

There’s no doubt the global IT industry can churn out the news. We’re inundated with news sites, blogs, magazines and opinions on a daily basis. CompTIA has been doing its part to help make sense of it all through our daily SmartBrief newsletter (click here to subscribe) launched several months ago. In a very short time, SmartBrief has seen its audience grow from zero to some 50,000. Subscribers like it because it brings all their favorite sites and feeds together in one easy to use format right ...

There are many types of communities.  Some exist online, some involve meetings in the neighborhood where you live and some simply refer to a similarly situated group.  So what is and isn't a CompTIA Community and why should you get involved?It Isn't About the MediumA CompTIA Community doesn't refer to a communication medium such as online discussion boards or face-to-face meetings.  In fact, CompTIA is striving to facilitate community communication in various forms including face-to-face meeting ...

Several high schools, community colleges and universities touted their tech career curricula during October, highlighting the incorporation of CompTIA certification exams into their programs.Villanova University launched a new program in information security management targeted at government workers. The master certificate program incorporates skill areas contained in the latest CompTIA Security+ exam. (Villanova University Unveils New Online Government IS Security Program, Reuters, Oct. 1, 2009 ...

An Oct. 21 news release announced the worldwide availability of the CompTIA Strata IT Technology exam, which measures an individual’s knowledge of basic IT terminology and technology. The release was carried by more than 30 media outlets, including the Dallas Morning News and MarketWatch.com. ...

The CompTIA Industry Mentors Program was highlighted in a story from eChannelLine, a media outlet that covers IT channel business in North America. The story noted that the program offers CompTIA members access to a panel of experts who can answer tough questions that have a daily impact on business operations and success. (CompTIA unwraps new member resources, eChannelLine, Oct. 1, 2009) Other stories on the program were published by dBusinessNews Chicago and Certification Magazine. ...

CompTIA executives participated in several media interviews in October to get the word out about career opportunities in the IT industry.During a media tour to Washington, D.C., Todd Thibodeaux spoke with Washington Times tech writer Mark Kellner and delivered the message that there are tech jobs to be had by workers with the right skill sets. "Other than health care, information technology has more jobs open than any other sector," he said. (KELLNER: Technology sector hiring, expanding, Washing ...

The new CompTIA Business Confidence Index (BCI) continued to gain traction with the media as a reliable indicator of industry activity. The CompTIA BCI was referenced in trend stories in InformationWeek, Insurance Networking News and IT Chanel Planet. ...

CompTIA Board of Directors member Lester Keizer, CEO of Connecting Point Las Vegas, was quoted in an Oct. 26 USA Today business section story on hiring trends. Lester told the reporter that he plans to hire up to five employees in the next two months at his two Las Vegas firms that now employ 41. (More companies plan to hire rather than cut workers, USA Today, Oct. 26, 2009)

As U.S. lawmakers debate changes in the nation’s healthcare system, CompTIA representatives are focused on the role of information technology in the delivery of healthcare. H.R. 3014, which passed the House on November 18th, would allow the SBA to guarantee loans up to 90% for the acquisition of HIT systems by small business health practitioners.  The maximum loan amount is the lesser of $350,000 for any single qualified eligible professional, or $2,000,000 with respect to a single gr ...

Among the findings of CompTIA’s IT security research, is that most breaches are caused by simple user error, suggesting that no amount of IT security measures can protect an enterprise from accidental breaches caused by careless or uninformed employees.Several organizations including the National Cyber Security Alliance have developed guidelines for individuals to stay safe online, while CompTIA’s Security Trustmark program validates that a business adheres to the industry’s best security practi ...

I’m just back from the wildly successful CompTIA EMEA Member Conference in the UK where I was struck by how green everything was– and I’m not just talking about the lush landscape. The Green movement was evident everywhere in the UK, from things as simple as switched outlets and compact florescent lighting everywhere, to motion sensing escalators that “sleep” to conserve power and mirrored ceiling panels that reflect light and heat into the stands of the Ascot Racecourse where the event was held ...

As in any relationship, CompTIA’s connection with the industry we represent is ever-evolving. This is especially true of our rapport with the vendor community—a relationship which is undergoing a dramatic transformation. In the past that relationship was based largely on sponsorships (dollars and cents) rather than on membership (engagement and participation). Participation in CompTIA was presented as an “investment” and the ROI for a vendor was calculated almost solely from CompTIA’s ability to ...