CompTIA Blog

For many in the IT channel, managed services ushered in the Holy Grail of recurring revenue. The model also helped fulfill growing demand from cash-strapped customers to shift cap-ex IT spending to a more predictable operational expense. CompTIA’s recent study, Trends in Managed Services, finds managed services growth among both end-users (adopting) and channel companies (selling) is expected to continue apace in the next two years. Additionally, planned investments in these services by both con ...

I attended an interactive breakout session called Successful Business Growth Strategies for Easy and Effective Implementation at the CompTIA EMEA Conference this week, led by Susanne Dansey of Purple Cow Ideas Management, which included nine bars of chocolate and a room of business owners that was standing room only.The company name stems from Seth Godin’s book about being “Remarkable” and always standing out in what you do, and Dansey certainly delivered a message in that vein. She opened by as ...

In prior blogs, we’ve discussed our concerns about the Main Street Fairness Act and the Marketplace Freedom Act and how any increased compliance burdens may be imposed on many small businesses.We understand the concerns of many states that they are losing tax revenues due to the failure of purchasers to voluntarily file and pay use taxes on out-of-state purchases.  But the problem is not that businesses need to be “cracked-down” on because of some failing; the cause of the problem is that the st ...

As the economy dived, small businesses found capital to be hard (if not impossible) to secure.  Consequently, many small businesses are still working their way out of tough economic times, and most have had difficulty growing and adding employees.  While there is no single answer to this urgent problem, there are a number of small steps that Congress can take that will allow small businesses to raise capital more easily.  Clearly, our national economic recovery will not be achieved until small b ...

During EMEA this week, John McGlinchey, CompTIA’s regional sales director, shared his experience in 10 top tips to grow business: Social Media - Social media has become mainstream media.  But we need to ask ourselves one simple question and that is, “have we mastered social media?”   McGlinchey explains that we have a lot to learn in order to be effective.  We need to realize that at the heart of social media should be trust and respect for our customers.  We need to engage, reply and response t ...

If you are in the IT industry, you’ve noticed the ground shaking. Things are changing, and change can be scary.  If you are a member of the EMEA ITSS Community, you don’t have to face that change alone.The EMEA IT Services and Support Community held a meeting in London yesterday with vendor and service provider participants from various EMEA countries.  The theme for the meeting was: Being Ready for Technology ShiftsAll of the work at the full-day meeting -- educational sessions, discussion sess ...

Despite the gloomy economy and a global shift in some traditional job functions, there are plenty of IT jobs to be had if one knows how and where to look. So says Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA, in a Computerworld Q&A this week. Thibodeaux, a longtime leader within the technical fraternity, highlights mismatched skill sets as a prime reason so many unemployed IT technicians are being prevented from filling otherwise appealing job openings. “An IT career requires a lifelo ...

We’ve come a long way since the early days of the channel, before the “value” was emphasized in VAR and when hardware was still a primary component of any sale. Just ten years ago, margin was one of the most important topics in any discussion with some resellers “shopping” partner programs for the best deals. The channel has undergone a significant transition over the past few years, requiring solution providers, vendors and distributors to put a new focus on the business education and training ...

At a recent industry conference, several solution providers expressed their concern that it was just too late for their companies to begin offering EMR and other healthcare-specific technologies. With so much buzz around the topic over the last two years (since the stimulus package was passed by Congress), they were convinced that the opportunities in this market had simply passed them by. But other solution providers in the room stressed that the supply of specialized services has, in no way, r ...

More and more employers may be turning to virtual job fairs in an attempt to broaden their candidate pool while saving travel and expenses. In these online forums - in which both companies and job seekers can log in from across the globe - participants can access a variety of “booths” of such big-name firms including Procter & Gamble Co., Citigroup or Boeing Co. to learn details about the company as well as open positions, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. These job ...

Access to capital and a skilled workforce are critical to the success of small- and medium-sized IT businesses, CompTIA members told Congressional members and Administration officials today. On the final day of CompTIA's Washington D.C. Fly-In event, CompTIA members from across the country met with policymakers to stress the issues that are important to small- and medium-sized tech businesses.Meeting with officials at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, members said access t ...

It’s a tough world out there. In this competitive environment of converging markets, stark competition and demanding employers, the need to be at the top of one’s game has become even more crucial.Globalization has turned the world into an open job-hunt zone, therefore, confirming the reliability of international recognition over the sometimes more restricted national credential. Consequently, employers demand the right to be harder to please. And, in fact, they are. Requiring high standards of ...

I did a radio interview last Saturday talking about the IT job market. We covered the standard message points: lots of open jobs in some regions but very few in others, not enough skilled people to fill them wherever they seem to be, and employers being very picky and specific about who they are hiring. But the point I kept coming back to in my own mind was when will the U.S. labor market hit a tipping point? Unemployment is almost always a lagging indicator during post-recession periods of gr ...

I did a radio interview last Saturday talking about the IT job market. We covered the standard message points: lots of open jobs in some regions but very few in others, not enough skilled people to fill them wherever they seem to be, and employers being very picky and specific about who they are hiring. But the point I kept coming back to in my own mind was when will the U.S. labor market hit a tipping point?Unemployment is almost always a lagging indicator during post-recession periods of growt ...

In more than 50 meetings on Capitol Hill today, CompTIA members from across the country stressed how instrumental small- and medium-sized IT companies are to the nation's economy.Members who attended CompTIA's Washington DC Fly-In event discussed specific legislation with elected officials and legislative staff, as well as the recurring themes of access to capital for small- and medium-sized companies, cybersecurity, and IT workforce development.Even in a down economy, IT worker unemployment is ...