CompTIA Blog

A look at the week of November 15, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channel This week, a leading Senate Democrat vowed to repeal the controversial 1099 reporting requirement.  The Obama Administration is preparing an active and sweeping approach to Internet privacy policy, including the creation of a new watchdog to oversee operations.  Although Congress is now back in session, passage of a cybersecurity bill remains unlikely.Senator Vows to Repeal 1099 Filing Rule From Healthcare Law — Sen. ...

Last night at an event at the Seattle Music Experience, I met a couple of seasoned IT professionals – one a former head of security for a major (albeit defunct) bank. When I say they are “seasoned”, I mean their experience is matched by the number of gray hairs on their head. They had worked for major corporations, held numerous technical and professional certifications, and both are out of work and back in school.Continual education is one of underpinnings of the technology industry. Vendors re ...

From time to time, CompTIA's Public Policy team invites elected officials who are leaders on IT issues to contribute to our blog. Congressman Cliff Stearns is a thought leader on privacy, data breach and other emerging technology issues.Stearns was elected in 1988 to the U.S. House of Representatives, his only elected office. Stearns is the Republican Leader on the Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee (formerly the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee). He is acti ...

Cloud computing is the much overhyped term reflecting businesses migrating their consumption of applications and IT infrastructure to services remotely delivered over the Internet. There’s no question that “the cloud” is transforming the way businesses use and pay for IT, as well as how vendors develop and sell technology. But where does the channel fit into that equation?A new survey by IBM and MicroScope of solution providers in the British Isles asks that very question: What impact will the c ...

The dust is beginning to settle following the national mid-term elections on November 2nd.  The results are known: Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives picking up 61 seats.  Democrats retained control of the Senate, although their majority margin decreased by 6 seats.  At this writing, the GOP now controls 29 gubernatorial offices across the country having picked up at least six seats.  At least 19 state legislatures switched to Republican majorities.& ...

Just when you thought the good times were back again, Cisco comes out with an earnings report and forecast that don’t exactly instill confidence in the tech world. That’s just one of the big stories in the Channel-Lands this week, and thankfully not all the headlines are grim.Cisco Earnings Shake Tech ConfidenceCisco Systems has long stood as bellweather of the tech market’s health, so it came as no surprise when Wall Street analysts were spooked by the networking company’s soft quarterly earnin ...

From Valley Forge to Normandy to Vietnam to Afghanistan, brave men and women, from all walks of life, have left the comforts of the familiar, leaving family and friends, to defend our way of life and the freedoms many take for granted.  Today, Veteran’s Day, let’s give thanks to all our veterans.CompTIA has a specific program to help military personnel and their spouses get the training they need to launch an IT career.  The big bonus – it’s free.  It’s our simple way of saying thank you to thos ...

As you probably know, beginning in 2011, qualifying heath care providers will become entitled to payments of as high as $44,000 over a five-year period as an incentive to implement meaningful use of electronic health records.   Since the Republican takeover of the House last week, some have expressed concern about whether HIT funding is in jeopardy.   We believe these concerns are unfounded and that funding will begin in 2011 for the adoption of meaningful use of electronic h ...

Training and education are very similar to politics: pay attention to what’s happening close to home and you’ll do well in your career. Travel to remote event locations can require a significant investment of your company’s time and money; even more so when several employees are along for the trip. If it’s difficult (or impossible) for you to get away for the quality training you need and the industry networking opportunities you desire, check out events that are a short drive or flight away.In ...

Analytics: In its purist form, it is by definition “the science of analysis.” Google uses analytics to dominate the online information market and it’s also the cornerstone of IBM’s “Building a Smarter Planet” campaign. General Electric used analytics through Six Sigma to produce annual benefits of more than $2.5 billion worldwide. But is it something we should all use?It’s hard to deny the value of the information received from analyzing process metrics. If I told you, after two months of commut ...

Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA CEO and president, and David Valdez, senior director of public advocacy, earlier this week weighed in on the future of online privacy, recommending steps Congress and the Federal Trade Commission can take to keep us safer online.  In posts on The Hill’s Congress Blog and TMCnet.com, Todd and David noted that Congress’s challenge, moving forward, will be to protect consumers while encouraging new innovations online.Some of their recommendations include: Providing the FTC ...

A look at the week of November 1, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channel A new health IT grant program aims to build insurance exchange systems between states.  Government workers have been scouting hacker conventions in search of new employees.  Cloud computing technology raises questions about data ownership and security. HIT Grants Help States Build Insurance Exchange — The Obama administration has launched a new grant program designed to help states establish the onli ...

It’s been a tough football game. Your team is down by four points but has the ball on your own twenty-yard line with less than two minutes to go and no time outs remaining. The coach has given the quarterback several plays that he believes will accomplish the short-term goal: to get the ball in the end zone and allow the team to win the game. After several well-executed plays, the quarterback is faced with what could be the last chance to score; third down and eight yards to go. He takes a time ...

Last week the CompTIA Educational Foundation contributed $100K to the newly formed Year Up Chicago, the local branch of a highly successful workforce development non-profit now in eight cities. As with our grant to the Chicago Academy of Advanced Technology (CAAT) in the spring, this grant is intended to keep the Chicago location moving forward and to challenge other local foundations and corporations to step to the table and support this effort to get people sustainable jobs.The first Year Up c ...

by Ray Barber, guest blogger from KaseyaServices providers (SPs) traditionally provided clients with a mixture of the break-fix model, point solutions and out-of-the-box products that tied clients down to vendors for extended periods of time, even when those products didn’t necessarily work. But, the days of single-minded inflexible quick IT fixes are fast coming to an end.During the last five years, there has been a dramatic shift in the way people consume IT products and services, and the SP i ...