Legislators Need Education on Solution Providers

In my recent visits to Washington, D.C., I've noticed a not-so-subtle lack of appreciation for the role IT solution providers play in the IT industry and the U.S. economy in general. Manufacturing jobs are all the rage now. If a company isn't making a tangible product, producing patents or IP, they aren't getting noticed by lawmakers and federal agencies.

Much of the structure of the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration was built around the manufacturing base. Look at the reports they produce and the programs offered and you'll pretty quickly see what I mean. Those two agencies have not kept pace with the changes in the U.S. economy as high-value services, particularly in IT, have grown during the last 30 years. But it's time for that to change.

There are tens of thousands of IT solution providers in the U.S. They are raising the productivity and efficiency of hundreds of thousands of other small businesses by providing managed services, break-fix, cloud computing and healthcare IT. The solution provider is also at the forefront of cyber security helping to protect credit card and identity information for their clients and, in turn, for millions of those clients' customers. Large manufacturers with thriving service arms and the Accentures of the world get the publicity for driving the services revolution, but where's the love for the small solution provider?

We need your help in defining the story and the message. What is it you want lawmakers to know about what you are doing everyday? How are you helping your customers? What kind of people are you putting to work? For our part, CompTIA will be compiling charts, stats and data to highlight the pervasiveness of IT solution providers in every congressional district so we can begin to inform the dialog. Help us by being a part of that message.