CompTIA Blog

Just as channel firms are finding new models of operations within a cloud paradigm, end-user businesses are moving through a series of changes that lead from early experiments to a fully transformed approach to IT. With 90 percent of businesses claiming some form of cloud usage, adoption ranges from those late entrants just starting to test the waters to early adopters who have moved full-production systems or even business-critical applications into the cloud. Beyond born-in-the-cloud companies ...

With last week’s news of Steve Ballmer’s retirement within the next twelve months, his company’s stock rose 7 percent and analysts waxed poetic about the positive effects his departure would have on the organization. Even without a new CEO in place, several channel experts have already suggested that the management change would result in a philosophical shift at Microsoft that would reenergize its partner programs and rebuild reseller confidence. Though there was no hard eviden ...

The cloud computing market continues to grow, and cloud computing jobs are getting more lucrative. But what the exactly is a “cloud job” and what does it take to win one? Executives from IT staffing firms and career sites recently spoke with CompTIA about what cloud skills and knowledge are currently in-demand from employers.

Channel firms deciding on a cloud play need to answer a few critical questions: Can I make money doing this? What type of cloud business works best for me? And who are my customers? This basic discussion of the economics of cloud computing has been front-and-center in the channel for the better part of the last three to five years, complicated by the wide variety of cloud business model options and potential revenue structures to explore, as well as differing customer needs. And yet, as found in ...

This is the time of year in which many NFL teams wrap up their training camps and head to their home fields to prepare for the first actual games of the year. Prior to and throughout the pre-season, each player was tasked with learning the latest schemes for their respective positions from their team’s playbook. These are the game plans designed to maximize scoring opportunities when the offense or special team has the ball and minimize the opponents’ yardage when they have control. ...

Younger workers from Generation Y (20 to 34 years old) are replacing the retiring Baby Boomers in the workforce. New generational research from CompTIA indicates that, as Gen Y assumes the prime labor role, these younger workers will bring new preferences, new behaviors, and new expectations—especially with regard to how technology is used in the workplace.

As anyone who has ever launched a product knows, the hardest variable to contend with is whether or not anyone will buy it. You can make the best widget in the world, but you can’t read people’s minds to learn if it’s something they actually need and will part with cash to acquire. Without sales, any company will tank fast. This is where market research comes in, and likely copious amounts of it. But it can be difficult for a small- to medium-sized business to muster the resour ...

Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) took part in a TechVoice event on August 19 in Charlotte, NC, co-sponsored by CompTIA, the North Carolina Technology Association and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. During the hour-long session, McHenry fielded questions from moderators Melanie Chernoff, public policy manager at Red Hat, Inc., and Ron Culler, CTO at Secure Designs, Inc. The topics ranged from cybersecurity and data breach to tax reform, and McHenry showed a strong commitment to and understan ...

CompTIA recently submitted testimony to the Senate Small Business Committee for a roundtable discussion on the effects of tax reform on small businesses. The event featured an open discussion on tax reform by representatives of the small business community. The Senate Finance Committee will ultimately consider the record of this event as part of its tax reform deliberations. CompTIA’s testimony called for tax code simplification; reduction of tax burden on SMB IT firms; growth and innovati ...

All is quiet here in D.C., with Congress home for its annual summer recess. While members of Congress are back in their districts, they are continuing to hear and talk to their electorates. As in years past, the August recess is a great time for constituents to bend their representatives’ ears on key issues. This year it is immigration reform. TechVoice members and TECNA alliance partners have been playing an enormous role in this process by pounding the pavement and meeting with their loc ...

Heather Jones' tells us about her path to her dream job as a quality assurance (QA) analyst for Riot Games, the Santa Monica, California-based publisher of "League of Legends," a multi-player online battle arena video game.

Jeremy Conley has a secret. As head of marketing for Avagio, specialists and champions in high quality ICT service and practices with many small- and medium-sized businesses across the south and west of England, he knows the value of promoting his firm’s CompTIA Accredit UK Trustmark+. And, he’s willing to share how Avagio pursued and acquired this honorable designation. The Accredit UK Trustmark+ (AUK) is a proven, strong, audited industry credential and the premier benchmark for IC ...

What if protecting your business’s confidential data and information was as easy as hiring a bodyguard? Who would you hire? What questions would you ask your candidates to be sure that this person has your company’s best interests at heart and the ethical values to back them up? Safeguarding private information is a matter that cannot be taken lightly in this digital age. That’s why CompTIA created the CompTIA Security Trustmark to help businesses identify solution providers th ...

Are you a cloud laggard? That’s analyst speak for “slacker.” If you are, you may be in the minority sooner than you think. Fewer than one in five partners serving small- to medium-sized businesses will not be offering cloud services by next year. That’s according to a new study out this summer from Techaisle Inc. The research firm found the number of U.S. channel partners – VARs, MSPs and solutions providers – offering cloud services to SMBs will jump fro ...

CompTIA hosted students from Leyden High School District 212 this week, giving them guided access to the association’s headquarters in Downers Grove, IL.