CompTIA Blog

When you’re responsible for not only understanding the problems that plague small businesses but also identifying solutions, where can you turn to for dependable data? Cindy Phillips, director of product management for CMIT Solutions, turns to CompTIA research. CMIT Solutions – a CompTIA member since 2010 – protects small businesses by proactively managing what matters most; the technical infrastructure that keeps business running. “Ask any small business owner what happe ...

This guest blog entry was written by Robert Dutt of Channelnomics. What a difference a year makes. In the 2012 Ingram Micro SMB 500 tally, solution providers in the southwest region were last in terms of overall revenue growth. The region still grew at 173.53 percent over 2011, but that number was the lowest regional growth rate around the country for partners in the Ingram Micro SMB 500, a program facilitated by The 2112 Group. A year later, the southwest region – Arizona, New Mexico ...

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has again noted his support for tax reform. In a statement released on October 30, Baucus emphasized the need for corporate tax reform, citing examples of companies that have re-incorporated in lower tax jurisdictions such as Ireland. He stated that he would work on parallel tracks with both the newly formed Budget Conference Committee, as well through the Finance Committee. Similarly, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) has continue ...

Building a successful IT services business isn’t easy. But perhaps it shouldn’t be or everyone would be doing it should it, further commoditizing the market and reducing revenue opportunities. Some of the most skilled technology professionals have seen the organizations they worked so hard to get off the ground fail after just a few months (or, if they’re lucky, a few years). The root cause for those misfortunes is rarely traced back to a lack of IT capabilities, but more often ...

Since 2008, Fuji Xerox Tokyo has tied its success serving customers to the core concept of CompTIA Project+ certification.

Knowledge of computer science (CS) is likely to help you get a job, but the actual numbers behind this are even more encouraging: New programming jobs are growing three times faster than the number of students entering the field. More than 50 percent of all math and science jobs are for computer scientists. Computer science jobs are the highest-paying jobs for new graduates. Software powers our economy, but less than 2.4 percent of college students graduate with a CS degree. That means there a ...

This guest blog entry was written by Larry Walsh of Channelnomics. Generally speaking, solution providers understand that conflict with their vendor’s direct sales teams will happen occasionally. But, poor channel conflict management that makes the problem chronic will cause them to take actions that ultimately cost their vendors money, according to the Second Annual Channel Conflict Report by the 2112 Group. One-third of solution providers say they will drop a vendor that poorly manages c ...

The European Union’s movement towards stricter privacy rules has the potential to affect any American company involved in data collection and storage, even those that have no connection to Europe at all. Last Monday, the EU took the next step towards strengthening its data protection laws when the Civil Liberties Committee voted to approve new, stricter privacy regulations on how companies collect, store and share data on European citizens. The full European Parliament is expected to vote ...

Please join us on Wednesday, November 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET to learn more about the new crowdfunding rules just released by the SEC. These new rules will implement the crowdfunding provisions of the “JOBS Act,” which permits a company to raise up to $1 million during a 12-month period. Generally, investors who have an annual income and net worth under $100,000 would be allowed to invest the greater of $2,000 or 5 percent of income during a 12-month period. Investors who have either net ...

CompTIA subject matter expert Tenette Prevatte began working in IT to make a car payment. Fast forward nearly 20 years, Prevatte is department chair for information systems security at Fayetteville (NC) Technical Community College.

After a slight delay due to the government shutdown, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft cybersecurity framework that sets voluntary standards and guidelines. As you may recall, this framework was required under the President’s “Executive Order on Cybersecurity” that Obama issued in February 2013. The framework is the result of four different workshops that were held around the country in which NIST consulted with industry and governme ...

GFN AG found that many career changers and newcomers to the IT industry didn’t have the extensive previous knowledge for vendor-specific certifications. In their search for a suitable, universally recognized certification, GFN AG soon found exactly what they were looking for: The CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ certifications.

Time and personnel limitations frequently dictate a company’s priorities. That creates a challenge for any solution provider attempting to grow a successful IT services organization. Those shortages not only impede a company’s operations and make it more difficult to focus on their customers’ needs, but they also hinder the strategies and goals outlined in their long-term business plan. With IT channel organizations, that struggle is repeated all too often, which may help expl ...

An overarching theme at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year has been defining Big Data and its role across our members’ and partners’ organisations. A panel of experts from across the industry stripped back some of the layers surrounding this all encompassing and often misunderstood area of IT in a session chaired by Carl West, business group director, IT, office and stationery, GfK Retail and Technology UK.  So is big data relevant to small busine ...

Social media expert DK talked about how to embed a social media culture in your organization at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year. He argued we’ve moved on from talking about how to blog and tweet. We’ve even moved on from social media strategy. We now need to be talking about a social media culture. And, he stressed, that goes beyond social media marketing. We need to deepen the social media conversation beyond how it can be used as a marketing tool. He ...