CompTIA Blog

New regulations and technologies are creating new challenges and concerns for companies delivering IT services and support. A panel of experts delivered this sobering message on the state of cybersecurity to attendees at Monday’s meeting of the CompTIA IT Services and Support community. The session took place on the opening day of CompTIA ChannelCon 2013, the premier education and partnering event for the IT channel. The panel noted that according to a recent survey, the number one issue k ...

Due to changes in the IT skills marketplace, CompTIA will retire the CompTIA IT for Sales and CompTIA Green IT specialty certification exams at the end of this year.

We applaud Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and John Thune (R-SD) for introducing “the Cybersecurity Act of 2013” this month. The act covers several important policy elements of the cybersecurity ecosystem. For instance, among the bill’s provisions are sections on public-private collaborations on cybersecurity; cybersecurity research and development, education and workforce development; and cybersecurity awareness and preparedness. An important component of the proposed legislat ...

Just 10 years ago, all an experienced IT professional needed to start his or her own services business was a hearty desire to succeed, a solid work ethic and an accountant to keep track of the influx of cash. Skill was, and continues to be, an essential ingredient in the success of solution provider companies, but over time, the organizational fundamentals have also grown in importance. Successful IT solution providers have to work effectively on both sides of the house today, with a firm grasp ...

CompTIA certified professionals now have a few new options to highlight their certified status. Credentialing service Blue Ribbon Techs and professional talent database Brainhunter.com now provide CompTIA certification validation on online profiles. So instead of confirming your certified status to multiple potential employers, you can do it once and apply to multiple contracting jobs.

On Friday, July 19, the House of Representatives passed “the Student Success Act,” which reforms and re-authorizes “the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA),” also known as “No Child Left Behind.” The law as it stands today has been due for reauthorization since 2007 and parties on both sides of the aisle agree that reform was needed to meet the needs and demands of today’s students. The bill passed the House on a mainly party line vote of 221 t ...

CompTIA ChannelCon is referred to as the “big tent” event because it’s the only place where solution providers, vendors, distributors, analysts, media, tech associations and other channel organizations come together in one place to learn from each other and take the IT industry to the next level. A large part of ChannelCon is the Technology Vendor Fair – where more than 130 vendors are expected to exhibit this year. Many ChannelCon vendors are launching new products and d ...

Earlier today, CompTIA’s own Chief Legal Officer Dan Liutikas testified during the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing titled “Reporting Data Breaches: Is Federal Legislation Needed to Protect Consumers?” Serving on the panel with Liutikas were other distinguished IT policy experts such as Debbie Matties, vice president of privacy for CTIA, Jeff Greene, senior policy counsel, cybersecurity and identity at the Symantec Corporation, Kevin Richards, sen ...

What’s the single, most important component of our advocacy efforts? You! You are the tech creators and entrepreneurs that form a critical backbone to support our economy and job creation. Yet despite that essential role, many SMBs find themselves searching for strategies that lead to growth and success in an environment of lessened resources and challenging policy and regulatory efforts. You need a voice. The first step to finding that voice is soaking up all you can at ChannelCon, July 2 ...

Army Specialist Priscilla White was stationed in Kuwait with the Alabama Army National Guard for several weeks before she learned about the U.S. Army Central Command Signal University, a school at Camp Arifjan where she could learn new computer skills, earn IT certifications and gain points toward promotion within the military.

By now, just about everyone has been exposed to the benefits of Web-based computing. From the non-stop radio and television advertisements from cable and phone companies to the personalized communications sent out by massive direct and indirect sales providers, the message is getting out. With a virtually limitless number of advantages for the business community, cloud services adoption continues to grow exponentially each year while its impact on the channel makes similar gains. After all, Web- ...

Brian Cunningham knew as a sixth grader that he wanted to work with computers. That ambition led him to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science and launch a career that began in computer programming but for more than 10 years has focused on IT project and program management.

On Thursday, Microsoft announced a huge reorganization and shift in mission. This article covering the announcement is a long read, but well worth it to gain some insight into what Microsoft thinks is important in a technology landscape that has been transformed since the PC-centric era that Microsoft helped usher in and maintain over the past 20 years. There are several interesting aspects of the re-alignment, especially for channel partners who base a great deal of business on Microsoft system ...

As the old saying goes, change is inevitable, which is why it’s important to be prepared for not only the positive, but also negative variations in the workplace and in life. Of course, it can take a fair amount of time for individuals to properly research issues that may pose a threat to their way or life or, inversely, improve it. For businesses, those changes happen almost every day, so entrepreneurs have to remain vigilant at all times to minimize their risks and take advantage of new ...

Vendors love cloud computing, at least in theory. The cloud computing model offers something many IT companies – vendors and solution providers alike – have never seen: recurring, predicable and accruing revenue. And, because cloud can be delivered at scale with fewer resources, such services are inherently more profitable. Cloud economics aren’t lost on businesses. Rather than building and maintaining their own IT systems and applications, cloud computing promises to low ...