CompTIA Blog

Several hundred Tech Data partners showed up to connect, share and learn at the hardware and software distributor’s Channel Link Partner Conference on September 17 to 19 at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, CA. But they weren’t there to share for sharing’s sake. This community has some valid reasons for coming together. Here are just a few of them:  Changes are afoot everywhere. Tech Data and its key vendors and partners are actively working to redefine themselves in ...

Last week, a large number of CompTIA staff participated in our annual volunteer day, spending our time at Spencer Technology Academy on the west side of Chicago. The school is home to a bright eyed and energetic bunch of kids in grades K through 8. Some of our group worked to clear and beautify an overgrown court yard, while others worked with students to create decorative mosaics spelling out the school’s name, painted the teacher’s lounge and redrew the basketball courts on a playg ...

Last week, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a study on “Professionalizing the Nation’s Cyber Workforce? Criteria for Decision-Making.” The study examined three questions: Is cybersecurity ready to be professionalized across the nation? Which jobs within the cybersecurity field should be professionalized and to what degree? Should the federal government lead this effort single handedly? The study was commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security. NAS, unde ...

Two new iPhones are being released today, triggering lines at Apple stores, a flurry of reviews on tech blogs, and fresh battle lines being drawn between the Apple faithful and the critics. The iPhone 5c is last year’s model with some slight improvements repackaged in colorful shells. While it was not the low-cost iPhone many expected, the fresh coat of paint serves marketing purposes and some are guessing that this is Apple’s way of capturing a demographic that is moving from iPods ...

The Big Data phenomena shows no signs of slowing down, a trend confirmed by CompTIA’s Second Annual Big Data Insights & Opportunities research study. While the threshold for what constitutes Big Data continues to evolve, businesses of all sizes will seek ways to unlock additional value from the data that’s most relevant to them, be it on a large or small scale. As such, the Big Data trend presents a range of direct and indirect business opportunities for IT channel partners with ...

Last week I attended the fourth and final National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Workshop on the Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Framework in Dallas, TX. The President’s Executive Order on cybersecurity – Executive Order 13636, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” – directed NIST to host these workshops in order to work with stakeholders on developing a framework to protect critical infrastructure. The workshop provided a great oppo ...

It’s been a big month for the smartphone market, between the introduction of the latest iPhones, the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft and the news that RIM is officially for sale. While this news may only affect most solution providers tangentially, it may help boost the growth of the complementary mobile technologies they promote and support. Of course, as more and more businesses leverage the benefits of smartphones and other portable, Internet-enabled devices, the opportunities for ski ...

This guest blog entry was contributed by Tim Jemal, CEO of Jemal Public Affairs. Over 100 technology executives, entrepreneurs, capital access providers and academia gathered on September 10 in southern California for the first Annual TechVoice Mixer and Networking event. Set atop the spectacular Hyundai Capital Building Rooftop Garden overlooking Orange County, attendees had an opportunity to network with peers and potential business partners in a relaxed setting under the stars. The event was ...

No college can properly prepare a future entrepreneur with everything he or she needs to build a successful services business in the highly competitive IT industry. That’s not a knock on the post-secondary educational system, but an acknowledgment that all the knowledge and competencies required to grow a viable solution provider practice won’t be obtained from a university education. Consider how most VARs and MSPs grow their operations. They typically follow a business development ...

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.