CompTIA Blog

There’s no denying it: cloud is growing. IBM just announced an aggressive expansion of its cloud services, and TheInfoPro’s “Wave 5 Cloud Computing Study” predicts a 36 percent compound annual growth rate for cloud into 2016, according to Forbes. Moreover, 69 percent of enterprises with cloud budgets in 2013 are expecting to increase them in 2014. These expanding market projections also mean expanding budgets for cloud computing, so if you’re not in the game already ...

Pat Martin, a national account manager at SmartSource, spends her days with her two dogs — her “big babies,” she calls them — developing business relationships for her company and recruiting IT staff from the comfort of her own home. Martin’s two-pronged role gives her plenty of satisfaction. She’s been at it for about three years now, after a mutual contact put her in touch with the owners of Illinois-based SmartSource Inc. “It was just love,” Mar ...

Earlier this year, CompTIA’s 2014 Outlook predicted that cloud wars would intensify, with public cloud providers fighting on price and differentiation and private cloud systems fighting to get a foothold. After just one quarter, that prediction holds true; several companies have announced new ways they are pushing this model into new territory. Late March was a game changer, as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft all held events to share updates to their cloud offerings. As expected, price was a ...

Last week, the Senate unanimously approved an amendment adding legislation supported by TechVoice – the “Innovation Credit Act of 2013” – to the tax extenders bill currently being debated in the Senate. This is an important milestone for TechVoice. Adding this TechVoice-supported legislation to the extenders bill is a major step on the road to its eventual enactment into law. Next up, the extenders bill, which now includes the startup R&D tax credit, will be voted on ...

There was a little friendly competition going on in the Mobility Community meeting at CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, Calif., this week. The meeting featured the “Rumble in the Mobile Jungle” (the community has hosted such a debate twice before, including at ChannelCon last year; click here to read all about it). This rumble was moderated by Ryan Morris with Ryan Morris with Morris Management Partners, who also served as host of the rumb ...

A shift in the IT customer and IT businesses themselves were the themes of two Power Talk sessions held this week at CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego. The theme of the first was “Power Talk: The New IT Decision Maker,” hosted by Carolyn April, director, industry analysis, market research for CompTIA. The four panelists were Paul Cronin, senior vice president and director with Atrion Networking; Leonard DiMiceli, general manager and channel ...

When IT-Ready Program officials approached Medica about offering post-graduation apprenticeships to adults entering the information technology field, the company’s senior IT leaders were receptive to the notion. After all, Medica already had an internship program in place for high school students, so its employees were accustomed to working with individuals who didn’t have a lot of past IT job experience, said David McPhaul, IT Services manager at Medica. “We saw this as a ...

IT channel companies in search of the next big disruptive force need look no further than their mirror, a longtime industry observer opined Wednesday at the 2014 CompTIA Annual Member Meeting. “You are the disruptor,” Chris Gonsalves, vice president, editorial, for The 2112 Group,  told an audience of IT channel partners, vendors and distributors. “If you’re not making someone uncomfortable, you’re just trudging along in the status quo,” he continued. &ld ...

The dynamics of creativity demand passion from individuals and teams to produce brilliant work, a top-selling author told attendees today at the 2014 CompTIA Annual Member Meeting. “Don’t short circuit the creative process just to get something done,” author Todd Henry told his audience. Rather, he encouraged them to be both “productively passionate” and “fiercely curious.” Henry led the interactive keynote session on “Passion, Collaboration a ...

Managed services providers (MSPs) must routinely and regularly examine their customer contracts and pricing strategies if they intend to maximize profitability. That message was delivered Wednesday by several industry experts during a meeting of the CompTIA Managed Services Community. The session was part of the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting taking place this week in San Diego. “I think as an industry we leave a ton of money on the table,” said Frank Picarello chief operating officer ...

The vast majority of companies in North America measure their customer satisfaction performance — nearly 90 percent of all businesses, according to one recent survey. Yet just half of those companies take their customer satisfaction data and share it with their employees. Even fewer — a mere 8 percent — close the loop with customers to let them know how the company has responded to their feedback. The lack of action on customer feedback can result in missed opportunities for mo ...

There are one million service members transitioning from military service to civilian life, and many of them need jobs. Moreover, they need help translating their military experience, which teaches things like leadership, team-building and a strong work ethic, into a resume that will jump out at a hiring manager in the civilian world. U.S. Tech Vets is a great tool in this arsenal. Through a partnership between Monster.com and the country’s top technology associations, U.S. Tech Vets is co ...

A longtime advocate of the IT industry — a man who built a successful career from humble beginnings — will be presented with CompTIA’s Lifetime Achievement Award during this week’s Annual Member Meeting (AMM) in San Diego. David P. Smith, vice president of field service for CompuCom Systems, will be honored by CompTIA, where was chairman of the board of directors from 2003 to 2004, and was a board member from 2000 to 2005. Smith began his career fixing copiers and had a ...

New technology doesn’t always translate to a fantastic business opportunity when a new idea is first introduced. It often takes months — if not years — for solution providers and vendors to evaluate innovative new portfolio options. Due diligence is imperative for anyone trying to build a viable technology business practice, but the vetting process for a mobility specialization can be particularly long and arduous. Some attribute it to the complexity of the devices and applicat ...

Last Thursday, representatives from two CompTIA member companies, Michael Paynter of Tier3 Technologies and Cameron Camp of ESET, flew to accompany me on a full day of meetings at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to discuss unlicensed use of TV white space spectrum and its value to small tech businesses, which can use it to innovate and grow. We met with staff members from all five FCC commissioners’ offices to make a final push to leave sufficient spectrum available for unlicen ...