CompTIA Blog

Believe it or not, some solution providers scoff at the opportunity to support their clients’ printers and copiers, seeing it as more of a distraction than a true business opportunity. In a world filled with distractions, they’d rather keep their eyes focused on the networks, computers, servers and applications with which they’re more comfortable. The print functions are a forbidden fruit that many solution providers would rather leave to the “dealers.”Of course, over the past few years that “ot ...

CompTIA’s Unified Communications Community was challenged Thursday to re-think what they think about unified communications.“Unified communications as we define it is a myth,” Lawrence Walsh, president and CEO of The 2112 Group, told the group. “We talk about it as if it’s a product, but it’s an outcome. It’s whatever the end user wants it to be, the outcome desired by the customer.”Because of that, unified communications should be viewed as a dream by IT solution providers and system integrator ...

Takeaway of the week is that apparently the Easter Bunny didn’t walk away with all the goodies in his basket last week. For those in the technical sector, more nuggets are there for the taking without much hunting, including the top spot in a new national poll of the best jobs in the U.S., good news for IT contractors and even a thumbs-up for Silicon Valley job seekers in their *gasp* 40s. Bridging the IT Skills Gap Job fillers are having trouble finding job seekers properly prepped in the late ...

The IT industry has certainly been through its share of transformative business model changes. But what’s new about the current shift from on-premise to cloud is that it’s originating with end-users, speakers on a CompTIA Annual Member Meeting panel said on Wednesday.Speakers discussed what solution providers need to do to make the transition to a cloud services model. It doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning on-premise solutions completely, but more likely results in a hybrid model.For solution p ...

Trust can and should be the greatest asset an organization can have, Stephen M.R. Covey, author The Speed of Trust, Smart Trust and other best-selling books, told attendees at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting Wednesday.“Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust,” Covey said in his keynote speech.” It’s not just trust as a social virtue. Rather, it’s an economic driver that can make a profound difference in your business. It’s an idea whose time has come.”When there is a low trust, everything tak ...

You know you need to be in the mobility market or at least embrace it for your customers, but are you struggling with how to capitalize on the opportunity and challenges mobility presents?  A panel of mobility experts at CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting offered some answers for IT solutions providers struggling with that question.There’s no denying the growing trend of mobility.  Mobile device shipments eclipsed PC shipments for the first time 2011. Tablet shipments are expected to exceed 100 mil ...

Spam and virus aren’t going away, nor are hacking and other threats to your clients’ systems and data. Much like malaria and other illnesses that mankind attempts to control, IT security concerns may typically be managed but never fully resolved. Despite significant advances in technology to deal with the more traditional threats to a business’ systems and data, new and more complex security issues are introduced on an almost daily basis.How can solution providers deal with the ever-changing thr ...

From now until November 6th, CompTIA will provide special political updates, making note of interesting developments in the 2012 presidential race, as well as the all-important balance of power in the U.S. Congress.  Why does this matter?Decisions by the U.S. President and Congress have a direct effect on technology policies which in turn impact the everyday business of the IT channel.  To this end, CompTIA kicked off the political season with a bang at AMM, inviting renowned pollster, author an ...

Small IT businesses are more successful when they focus on generating demand and nurturing leagues rather than focusing on managing demand. That was one of the messages delivered today during a meeting of the CompTIA Small Business Owners Community.The group, which focuses on the development of best practices, business fundamental education and resources for emerging IT businesses with fewer than 20 employees, met this week at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting.“We go out there and fix immediate ...

Are telemedicine, voice recognition and mobile applications emerging issues in healthcare IT, or current issues? What about dealing with fax machines – is it still an issue, or do solution providers not have to deal with it anymore? These were a few of the topics discussed at the CompTIA Healthcare IT Community meeting at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting today in Chicago. The group began creating a roadmap of the healthcare IT industry, pinpointing emerging, current and fading issues ...

The shortage of skilled information technology (IT) workers is fast approaching a critical point where it could negatively impact industry growth and prosperity. That dire message was delivered today by speakers on an IT workforce panel at CompTIA Colloquium, the annual gathering of leaders in the IT training and certification industry.  The current supply of skilled IT workers in the United States is simply not enough, said Tania Lavin, market research manager, Allegis Group Inc. She cited ...

The shortage of skilled information technology (IT) workers is fast approaching a critical point where it could negatively impact industry growth and prosperity. That dire message was delivered today by speakers on an IT workforce panel at CompTIA Colloquium, the annual gathering of leaders in the IT training and certification industry. The current supply of skilled IT workers in the United States is simply not enough, said Tania Lavin, market research manager, Allegis Group Inc. She cited a r ...

Both the speakers and audience at this morning’s MSP Partners Community meeting during CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting kept coming back to a common pain point that many IT solution providers experience. Despite the high level of automation and remote processes followed by many industry experts, others continue to struggle to improve their organizations’ business and process efficiencies. As the company grows, what was once a small issue can snowball into a much greater problem that gets harder t ...

IT is everywhere… that reality will help ensure successful futures for the IT solution provider community, as well as the many companies with a role in the IT channel. CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux kicked off the 2012 Annual Member Meeting (AMM) yesterday by touching on where the industry has been over the past few years, and then stressing some of the most lucrative opportunities that lie ahead.The economy has affected the industry tremendously over the past few years, just now getting back to th ...

The IT training industry needs to stress the importance of hiring skilled workers and providing additional IT training to the employer audience, speakers at CompTIA Colloquium said on Tuesday.  It’s an audience that is sometimes overlooked, Terry Erdle, CompTIA executive vice president of certification; and Cushing Anderson, program vice president for research firm IDC, told attendees. “We haven’t necessarily sold this to the employing world, that if they get a skilled person, it’s much bet ...