CompTIA Blog

A series of bills have been introduced in the House during the last month that aim to increase and strengthen small business participation in government contracting – an important goal that CompTIA has always supported.  Development of this legislation follows over a year of hearings held by the Small Business Committee on various contracting issues.  This group of bills will help to direct more government contracting dollars to small businesses and should be enacted. Included in H.R. 3850, “Gov ...

A look at the week of March 5 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  This week, Republicans prepare to introduce an alternative cyber bill in the House.  Nextgov.com takes a look at how cloud computing will change the way federal agencies work.  GovernmentHealthIT examines how the President’s new budget may affect health IT.Republicans Prep Secure IT Act in the House — Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) plan to introduce the Secure IT Act, a GOP-backed cybersecurity bill, i ...

Okay, IT professionals, what’s your career roadmap? Employers, what your plan for validating your IT employees’ skills? Find both on CompTIA’s online IT certification roadmap to learn which credentials—from CompTIA and other organizations — will advance specific IT careers. This one-of-a-kind tool identifies industry IT certifications used on various IT career paths as a worker progresses from beginner/novice to the intermediate, advanced, specialist and expert le ...

As technology permeates every functional area of a business and more company staff assumes the role of a knowledge worker, organizations across the globe must contend with new security threats and vulnerabilities.

With so much hype and so many different ways of describing the cloud, people are left feeling scared and confused.   Ian Moyse, U.K. sales director, Workbooks.com, believes that we shouldn’t be scared of the cloud and instead ask ourselves the simple question if cloud can help.  Moyse has found that by trying one cloud-based application that genuinely helps us means we are far more likely to become “cloud committed.”Moyse has more than 26 years IT experience, sits on the board of Eurocloud UK, h ...

On Veterans Day last November, we saw a number of stories about the state of unemployment among the veterans community. It was startling enough to learn the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was 33 percent higher than the overall population, but if you dig a little deeper, you realize the picture gets far darker. As the jobs picture improves for more Americans, among our youngest veterans, those 18 to 24 years old, the jobless rate continues to hover near 30 percent, up from ...

On Veterans Day last November, we saw a number of stories about the state of unemployment among the veterans community. It was startling enough to learn the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was 33 percent higher than the overall population, but if you dig a little deeper, you realize the picture gets far darker. As the jobs picture improves for more Americans, among our youngest veterans, those 18 to 24 years old, the jobless rate continues to hover near 30 percent, up fro ...

Many IT projections for 2012 showed mobility as one of the hottest topics for the upcoming year. Fueled by the popularity of mobile devices and the growing numbers of employees working remotely, enterprise mobility is set to become big business in the years to come. Global Industry Analysts projects that by 2017, enterprise mobility will be a $174 billion market. CompTIA also feels that mobility will be a major trend to follow, and the newly released Trends in Enterprise Mobility study examines ...

We anticipate bi-partisan support for legislation aimed at easing access to equity capital for small businesses.  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced yesterday that the Republican majority would bring legislation to the floor next week that amalgamates six existing capital access bills, four of which have been passed by the House already.  Basically, this new bill, H.R. 3606 "Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act of 2011," is a “re-packaging” of exis ...

Activity surrounding cybersecurity saw an uptick this week as Democrats and Republicans tried to position themselves on tech-impacting legislation.  Below is a quick round-up of the leading stories: Senators Unveil Major Cybersecurity Bill New Cybersecurity Center for Excellence Launched GOP Cybersecurity Bill Takes Light Regulatory TouchPrivacy also was a top issue this week with numerous stories covering everything from a White House proposal for managing consumer privacy to coverage of Google ...

In general, companies avoid unnecessary risks and will invest in any cost-effective methods that will lessen dangers to their business. Some hazards are easy to prevent, or at least insure against—such as fire or theft, while others are more obscure and present a real challenge to those unfamiliar with prevention methods.That’s the position many businesses are in when it comes to cloud and security services. The prospect of accessing and backing up critical business systems via the Web seems con ...

On March 6th, our UK office hosts a partner luncheon on cloud computing and the need for education and certification. Led by John McGlinchey, vice president, EMEA, CompTIA, the luncheon will feature Ian Moyse, a well-known authority on cloud security. Moyse is the U.K. sales director for Workbooks.com, a Eurocloud U.K. board member and Cloud Industry Forum Governance board member.  Below is a post from Moyse on his insights into the cloud computing trend.2012 is rumored as the tipping point for ...

Takeaway of the week is that a fresh batch of reminders only strengthens the idea that 2012 really is a cornucopia of good tidings for the IT job-seekers. The U.K., for example, is bursting at the seams with plum IT roles, if you have the right skills and experience. Another ‘Hot Jobs’ list isn’t just sprinkled with technology roles, it’s downright dominated by ‘em. And, if that isn’t enough, more evidence comes forth that executives are actually investing in their technology departments as a me ...

On my way into work a few weeks ago, mindlessly listening to talk radio, I heard one of the most exciting pieces of news I’ve heard in a long time.  The Girl Scouts of America had added three new badges to its program: computer expert, digital movie maker and website designer.  I actually found myself cheering out loud and high fiving the steering wheel!As a woman who has spent nearly my entire career in high tech industry, I am acutely aware of the gender gap.  From executive meetings to client ...

On my way into work a few weeks ago, mindlessly listening to talk radio, I heard one of the most exciting pieces of news I’ve heard in a long time. The Girl Scouts of America had added three new badges to its program: computer expert, digital movie maker and website designer. I actually found myself cheering out loud and high fiving the steering wheel! As a woman who has spent nearly my entire career in high tech industry, I am acutely aware of the gender gap. From executive meetings to clien ...