CompTIA Blog

Channel-Lands started last week with the Microsoft’s release of Windows Phone 7, because the world needs another mobile operating system. But that was just the beginning of a busy week, which saw the McAfee partner conference, FalconStor’s new CEO promising changes and rumors of Oracle contemplating a mega-acquisition. Windows Phone 7 Launched, FinallyMicrosoft’s much-anticipated launch of Windows Phone 7 finally came this past week. Microsoft has much riding on the successor to Windows Mobile 6 ...

We all need community. Through relationships, both business and personal, we receive support and can support one another. Through community we can interact, share and develop valued programs and solutions to our problems. These connections also allow us to make the world a better place. Business owners can often feel isolated when facing threats on their own, wondering many times if they are the only one facing a particular problem. Whether facing the current economic climate, keeping pace with ...

There’s been a significant shift in the services business over the past few years. When customer contracts begin to approach their conclusion date, most providers are very proactive and engage these clients to continue to expand their support programs. You can’t expect to automatically extend existing contracts, even if it was a common practice before. Times have changed; perhaps this change is due to the negative shift in the economy or the continued drive for efficiency in many businesses. Eit ...

Microsoft’s Scott Charney says we should treat malware-infected PCs in the same manner as 19th century public health officials treated victims of typhoid, tuberculosis and cholera: quarantine. Yes, the head of Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing believes malware infections are so pervasive and destructive that isolation is the only means for protecting the greater good. Perhaps, but I have a better idea: recall.First, let’s review Charney’s idea – quarantine.“Governments, industry and consumers sh ...

A look at the week of October 11, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channel This week, a CompTIA study found that IT firms are more optimistic about their own potential than that of the economy at large, causing them to put off hiring and expansion. The rise of electronic medical records is generating tough questions about privacy and security. Green tech start-ups have trouble getting off the ground due to a rough economy and a lack of climate legislation. The SBA reports a jump in small bu ...

As a person starting a small business, I know first-hand the difficulties of getting started. When you conceive of a venture, you think of all the important stuff: products, customers, operating model, sales model, revenue targets, staffing, responsibilities and resources. That’s where I started when I founded The 2112 Group and Channelnomics. Often overlooked are the little things – particularly forms and legal documents.A new benefit for CompTIA members is a rich library of legal document temp ...

Is there no stopping the juggernaut known as Apple? Apparently not the old fashion way through innovation and superior products to market. The continued ascent of Apple is driving numerous lawsuits, alliances and potential mergers. The impact on the Channel-Lands is potentially enormous. Microsoft, Adobe Start DatingThe long wait is nearly over. Next week will bring the launch of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s best hope for competing against Apple in the increasingly lucrative mobile handheld mark ...

As states seek to maintain or expand both their tax base and collections, we’ve noted increasing and novel attempts to tax interstate transactions.  No less than the U.S. Supreme Court, however, has held that the predicate that for a state to tax a non-resident individual or business, the individual or business must have a real physical presence in the state.  Commonly, physical presence has been interpreted as having an office or place of business in the state, or employing workers that operate ...

Earlier this week, CompTIA released this interesting little statistic: 55 percent of businesses have a comprehensive, written IT security policy. Think about that for a moment. The statistic means that roughly one-half of all other organizations do not have a security policy in place.October is National Cybersecurity Awareness month, a celebration conceived nearly a decade ago to elevate the level of understanding of Internet and computer security threats. The idea behind this awareness month is ...

A look at the week of October 4, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channelPresident Obama proclaimed October as “National Cybersecurity Awareness Month” to alert and educate the public about cybersecurity. The discovery of the Stuxnet virus delivered a wake-up call to government and industry officials as to the broad implications and potential dangers of a malware attack.  Medical software companies are looking to the recent national mandate for electronic medical records as a turning point in ...

The session Channel Execs Predict the Future (21 October at 11:30-12:15) is sure to be one of the most popular sessions at the upcoming CompTIA EMEA Member Conference 21-20 October at the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel.The panel, moderated by CRN editor Sara Yirrell, covers what leading channel players think is hot, happening and coming down the pike: cloud computing, green IT, healthcare IT, security, storage and much more. We asked the panelists — Ray Barber from Kaseya, Tim Black from Inte ...

Channel-Lands was rocked by HP’s choice for new CEO; it wasn’t an obvious pick by a long-shot. Also in this week, Microsoft renewed its efforts to measure partner and customer satisfaction, Stuxnet proved the malware threat continues to evolve, and Skype is making sound waves in the channel.HP Gets a New Boss, Herr ApothekerThe list of potential successors for Mark Hurd’s chief executive post at Hewlett-Packard was long and included several industry luminaries. Inside HP, Personal Systems Group ...

A friend of mine (in his early thirties and in good health by all appearances) recently went in for his annual medical checkup, where his physician notified him that his cholesterol was dangerously high. Without the intervention of his doctor, he would likely have faced serious health problems at some point in the future. But a few simple changes in his lifestyle reversed the condition, putting him back on a path of good health. In much the same manner, a recent routine trip to my mechanic resul ...

A look at the week of September 28, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channelThis week, the Small Business Lending Bill became law with President Obama’s signature on Monday.  The Senate is now moving forward on cybersecurity, drafting a compromise bill of the two competing proposals.  Also, Microsoft has been pushing the government to reconsider a decades-old law that may be holding back cloud computing.  Despite the end of the economic recession, tech hiring is slow to rebound.Obama Signs $3 ...

Last year, Andy Havens, a former airman with the U.S. Air Force, took his first step to making his dream of an IT career a reality. He had read on Military.com that the CompTIA Educational Foundation’s Creating Futures program gave free training to military veterans. “This was an opportunity beyond belief for me since I really wanted to get into the IT field. I have been fascinated and intrigued by computers and their application to real world needs since I had taken a programming class in colle ...