CompTIA Blog

A look at the week of April 9 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  When Congress returns from April recess, it is expected to focus on taxes, jobs and cybersecurity legislation.  Politico examines how the upcoming election is influencing cybersecurity legislation.  At the FOSE conference, futurist Thomas Koulopoulos discussed how disruptive technologies such as cloud computing can change the behavior of government agencies.Taxes, Cybersecurity, Jobs Programs Expected To Dominate April Agenda ...

You would have to be living in a cave for the last few months to not have heard of Office 365, Google Apps, or Salesforce.com by now. All three of them are major Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) brands with attractive partner programs, but if SMBs really do set off on a march to the cloud, then most SMB IT shops will have to find additional SaaS partner opportunities to achieve sustainable revenue levels.Over the past six months, I've done a substantial amount of research into SaaS partner programs. ...

For Dujon Walsham, passing up university in favor of taking IT certification trainings was a great decision. Five years after receiving his first professional certification (CompTIA A+), he has multiple CompTIA and vendor-specific certifications under his belt, and his career in the United Kingdom is flourishing. His current job involves helping companies like eBay and British Airways adopt cloud computing systems, and he receives several calls per day from companies like Microsoft and Barclays ...

For Dujon Walsham, passing up university in favor of taking IT certification trainings was a great decision. Five years after receiving his first professional certification (CompTIA A+), he has multiple CompTIA and vendor-specific certifications under his belt, and his career in the United Kingdom is flourishing.His current job involves helping companies like eBay and British Airways adopt cloud computing systems, and he receives several calls per day from companies like Microsoft and Barclays a ...

Dell is on a tear this week, scooping up Wyse Technologies and Clerity Solutions and adding thin client and even more cloud solutions to their ever-expanding portfolio. The former hardware-centric vendor obviously has a plan to transform its business model, rapidly expanding into areas formerly supported by channel organizations. The moves help the company continue to reduce its reliance on hardware, shifting to more profitable and higher growth segments of the IT industry.But Dell’s strategy is ...

Google’s new Project Glass is the stuff that futuristic dreams are made of. Designed by Google[x], Google’s secretive think tank that pushes the boundaries of technical innovation, these augmented reality “glasses” are designed to make interactions with technology nearly seamless. The concept video is fairly impressive (as concept videos tend to be), and many are already imagining possible applications for the new gadget.Photo credit: GoogleThe project announcement was greeted with a fair share ...

A look at the week of April 3 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  The JOBS Act passed Congress and was sent to the President.  A new cyber bill favoring information sharing over regulation was introduced in the House.  Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the FBI, told the Wall Street Journal that America is losing the cyber war.JOBS Act Clears Congress — Legislation meant to make it easier for small companies to obtain capital fr ...

North Carolina has become a hotbed for IT jobs; Denver, Atlanta and Chicago keep growing and St. Louis has emerged as one of the top IT job markets, according to TEKsystems. Below is TEKsystems ranking of the top 10 markets where it has seen the most demand for IT workers. The company reports that the majority of IT worker demand is in specialized job roles: business analysts, project managers, .NET developers and mobility application developers, for example. Across the 10 top IT job markets, ...

In Wallace Wakefield’s line of work, it’s almost redundant to say that security is of the utmost importance. Nevertheless, Wakefield, who works in IT management for the U.S. Department of Defense, remains vigilant about ways to upgrade his knowledge and skill set in this vital sector. He thinks he’s found the latest key ingredient.As an early beta tester for the new CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner  (CASP) certification, Wakefield recounts the profound benefits.“Any time you can validate w ...

In Wallace Wakefield’s line of work, it’s almost redundant to say that security is of the utmost importance. Nevertheless, Wakefield, who works in IT management for the U.S. Department of Defense, remains vigilant about ways to upgrade his knowledge and skill set in this vital sector. He thinks he’s found the latest key ingredient. As an early beta tester for the new CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner  (CASP) certification, Wakefield recounts the profound benefits. “Any time you can va ...

Life certainly doesn’t stand still, and neither does the IT world. Ten years ago, who would have thought that Apple products would be found in more than half the households in the U.S. or that mobility devices would be crucial business tools? Change is inevitable, but the technology we employ in our personal and corporate lives seems to be advancing at greater speeds each and every year. Some of those advancements have come about so quickly that they have become commoditized almost overn ...

Takeaway of the week is we actually can survive a batch of seven days touching on the current IT job market without invoking the topics of cloud computing and big data. Some critical news this week discusses how Indian outsourcing efforts are helping U.S. workforce activity and the lack of IT skills could be the tipping point for spiraling youth unemployment in Europe. Study: Indian IT Outsourcing Helps Boost U.S. Workforce Outsourcing by Indian firms in the U.S. is helping to boost the employm ...

During the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference we hosted a panel discussion on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The session included me and three Microsoft partners with experience managing what has often been described as one of the most unnatural acts in business.It was a lively discussion about the role of M&A in building a vibrant IT services company and we touched on some of the pitfalls in consummating a successful deal. I thought the topic was so important that this would b ...

In a remarkable show of bi-partisanship, the House passed the Senate-amended version of H.R. 3606 “Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act” by the wide margin of 380-41.  This legislation included six existing bills, four of which had passed the House already, and which have been supported by CompTIA as a means of infusing capital into small businesses.  The Senate amended the initial House version by adopting an amendment offered by Sen. Merkley, which was passed by a vote of 64-36.  This am ...

A look at the week of March 26 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  This week, the Senate passed the House’s JOBS Act, making it easier for small companies to raise capital.  Budget cuts are hindering the government’s ability to hire the best cyber employees.  NPR examines the risks that a cyberattack would have on U.S. critical infrastructure and the best regulatory course of action.Budget Cuts Put Cybersecurity at Risk — Budget limitations are harming the government’s ability to compete wit ...