ChannelCon 2013 attendees were urged by CompTIA President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux to embrace the future and all the opportunities it will offer, but also ask themselves tough and thoughtful questions about their business.
During his keynote speech Tuesday, Thibodeaux used clips from several Hollywood blockbuster movies – A Few Good Men, Jaws, Dead Poets Society and Rudy – to illustrate his challenges to the business owners and executives in attendance.
- Can you handle the truth about your business?
- Do you need a bigger boat?
- Do you need to look at things differently?
- Can you inspire people?
“You have to have all four of those pieces if you are going to successfully embrace the future,” Thibodeaux said.
CompTIA’s top executive predicted tremendous amounts of opportunity for the IT industry.
“There are going to be massive changes in the technology solutions you’re asked to sell,” he said. “The technologies to come are going to provide a world of opportunities.”
Thibodeaux identified six areas of technology and that will impact the way IT channel companies do business:
3D Printing: “Over the next 10 years this is going to be something ubiquitous with mass adoption across the board.” Channel companies can capitalize by providing customers with break/fix services; materials and supplies; and blueprints, diagrams and templates.
Smart Buildings: “The IP-ization is changing the way buildings work,” Thibodeaux said. “Interconnected systems will make it a big opportunity for managed services. The number of devices that could be managed in an area of this size is tremendous.”
Cloud: High-bandwidth connectivity is growing exponentially and wireless connectivity has taken the cloud outside the four walls of the office.
Wearable Computing: “Smart clothing” equipped with devices will allow you to have enhanced capabilities.
Distributed Workforces: “We’re seeing a huge increase in the number of temporary workers, contract workers and workers who don’t work in the central location,” Thibodeaux said. “How are you going to manage all those environments?”
Security: Security will become even more critical as the threats become smarter and the points of vulnerability expand.
Thibodeaux also spoke to a demographic shift that will impact the future; the rise of the millennials as the soon-to-be dominant force in the workforce. “They’ll be your customers, your sales people and techs and maybe your boss,” Thibodeaux said. “They’re not bad, they’re not good, they’re just different. Some of their strengths may be your weaknesses.”
Thibodeaux concluded his speech by reminding attendees that they are not alone in venturing into the future: “CompTIA has so many resources available to you to help you embrace the future. We exist to provide benefits, value and education for the industry.”
