Press Releases

Agreement Brings Increased Programming, Research for Local Officials Along with Business Development Opportunities for Tech Sector

Washington, D.C., January 8, 2019 – The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) today merged with the Public Technology Institute (PTI), enabling increased collaboration between local government executives and elected officials and private industry to solve society’s most critical challenges.

Today’s agreement brings together PTI, the industry’s leading resource for the wise deployment of technology at the county and city level, with the significant public sector, association and certification resources of CompTIA. Both PTI and CompTIA share common values with the ultimate goals of providing quality programming, networking opportunities, and timely research to city and county agencies and providers.

“We welcome PTI and its members to the CompTIA family,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA. “Private/public partnerships are critical to tackling our country’s most important opportunities – from IT modernization to broadband to smart cities. We look forward to advancing the work of PTI and augmenting its programs to make a difference in the everyday lives of citizens.”

PTI’s corporate vendor members will integrate into the CompTIA State & Local Government and Education Public Sector Council (SLED).  “PTI will put the “L” in CompTIA’s SLED activity as we work together to grow our resources and relevance at the local level, especially as it pertains to the growing and important market of smart cities,” said Nancy Hammervik, executive vice president, industry relations, CompTIA.  The addition of PTI will also help CompTIA round out its portfolio of public sector programs now covering street to space, offering government resources and benefits for the new PTI Council, SLED Council, Health Services IT Advisory Group (HSITAG) and Space Enterprise Council (SEC).

PTI’s jurisdiction and state agency members will form a new CompTIA Public Sector Council, PTI, with its own set of association governance and bylaws. These members will participate in CompTIA events when appropriate and will not engage in public policy committees nor will they help define the associations legislative priorities. The current PTI Board of Directors will become an executive council serving in an advisory capacity to CompTIA.

PTI and CompTIA will develop a roadmap for growth as well as program enhancements geared towards local governments, both domestically and world-wide.  PTI will continue its strategic partnerships with industry media and other national associations that represent the interests of local government technology executives and practitioners. PTI will continue to deliver programming to its membership in 2019 by focusing on several initiatives to include:

•            The start of the 2019-2020 Certified Government CIO (now in its 8th year) program

•            An expanded Certified Government Digital Services Professional certification program

•            PTI’s popular Tech Matters weekly email highlighting technology news and government services

•            The annual CIO and Leadership Summit and “hot topic” events and webinars

•            Research (survey analysis, articles, identifying leading practices)

“This is an exciting time for PTI,” said PTI Executive Director Alan Shark, who will remain as head of PTI at CompTIA. “We are looking forward to continuing to provide our members with the world-class level of professional development, technology thought leadership, industry research and insight, consulting services, networking and other important resources they have come to expect and enjoy from PTI, while expanding our reach and our relevance with the support of CompTIA.”

The merger brings 14 new members to CompTIA’s PSA Program to include ESRI, Allied Telesis, Kronos, Nutanix, Motorola, Qualtrics, Ricoh, RSM, Symantec, Tyler Technologies, Information Builders and Plante Moran.

About PTI

Established in 1971 by the several major national associations representing state and local governments, PTI has been viewed as the focal point for thought leaders who have a passion for the furtherance and wise deployment of technology. PTI's initial funding was through a grant from the National Science Foundation. Today, PTI actively supports local government officials through research, education, professional development, executive-level consulting services, and national recognition programs.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the leading voice and advocate for the $4.8 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 35 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, market research and membership programs, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce.