One of the biggest reasons why entrepreneurs join industry associations is to gain access to a variety of business improvement resources and educational programs that would be costly to recreate or purchase on their own. Those business tools and best practices are particularly hard to come by in the IT channel, and the expense of tailoring them to meet the specific needs of even a well-established solution provider can be quite prohibitive.
CompTIA not only recognizes those challenges, but collaboratively engages its members to identify and address the most important issues in the channel. Over the past three years, its 10 member communities have developed a multitude of resources and programs for the solution provider community. From HR documents and contract templates to business credentialing programs like the CompTIA Trustmarks, the breadth and depth of their collective creativity is astounding. And after an extremely productive Annual Member Meeting last month, the communities have much more in store to help members improve their business and professional development in 2013.
With all this in mind, here we look at the top 10 initiatives expected from CompTIA’s member communities this year:
1. Career Platform
A new online resource spearheaded by the Advancing Women in IT Community will serve as an adjunct to the group’s educational and mentoring program. The site will include areas to map out IT career paths; links to valuable online training and education; tips from experienced IT professionals; and recommendations for those interested in pursuing an IT job. The career platform is expected to be rolled out in Q3.
2. Cloud Trustmark
This business credential will serve as a validation of the SaaS processes that vendors employ. The Cloud Trustmark will help protect resellers and their customers by ensuring their suppliers meet a certain level of technical performance. The credential is expected cover the types of service level agreements being offered, security measures in place and other important details solution providers need to know to make informed decisions on behalf of their clients. This initiative of the Cloud/SaaS Community is tagged for completion in late 2013, so there’s still time to get involved – just contact the group leaders.
3. A Real World IT Security Stories Portal
This online portal will contain actual accounts that solution providers can use to help sell security solutions to their small- to medium-sized clients. The IT Security Community is preparing to launch this sales tool soon.
4. Warranty White Paper
This report is in the final development stage after two years of in-depth research and discussions. The IT Services and Support Community directed this survey and corresponding white paper to demonstrate the impact – including overhead administrative costs – of warranties on solution providers and vendors. This report, which includes research conducted by CompTIA and the Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA), is expected to be released within the next few weeks.
5. Hiring and Retaining the Next Generation Workforce White Paper
The Canadian segment of the IT Services and Support Community is documenting the challenges and opportunities associated with hiring and retaining new workers for an upcoming report. CompTIA will develop the white paper based on association research and the input from a variety of IT industry professionals.
6. Managed Print Trustmark Resources
The Managed Print Services Community is ramping up the value of its top-notch business credential for managed print professionals. By leveraging the members’ industry reach and the resources of CompTIA, the group intends to majorly expand its end-user awareness campaigns to boost the status and value of this exciting new Trustmark.
7. UK Training
Let’s not overlook those members on the European side of “the pond.” CompTIA, under the direction of the UK Channel Community, is developing and preparing to launch a new portfolio of resources. Programs and materials included in this initiative include a series of half-day solution provider training sessions; developmental workshops; a value-added reseller assessment tool; and a solution provider health check. Stay tuned for launch dates for these new resources for the UK audience.
8. Mobility Roadmap
For solution providers and vendors who need to know the latest areas of opportunity, as well as the obstacles that lay ahead in specific technology areas, a detailed yet brief overview can be a valuable tool. That’s what the Mobility Community is in the midst of designing a roadmap of current and emerging trends. Members can use this information to bolster business plans or just to evaluate the opportunities in this thriving segment of IT. The community expects to launch the mobility roadmap in the next few weeks.
9. Managed Services Education
The MSP Partners Community is diligently working with the CompTIA events and education teams to identify and build a variety of advanced educational offerings. Expect these classes and workshops to be offered at a number of IT channel conferences and meetings in 2013.
10. Bandwidth Calculator
The Unified Communications community is moving forward with its plan to design and launch a tool to measure customer network bandwidth usage. A major discussion at AMM involved identifying the availability of carrier services and how much connectivity each end-user actually needs. The bandwidth calculator would give solution providers a tool to measure their clients’ true business requirements and open a more comprehensive network-enhancement discussion.
Brian Sherman is founder of Tech Success Communications, specializing in editorial content and consulting for the IT channel. His previous roles include chief editor at Business Solutions magazine and senior director of industry alliances with Autotask. Contact Brian at [email protected].
