CompTIA Blog

Each August during Breakaway, the CompTIA Educational Foundation presents its Creating Futures Awards to IT and philanthropic leaders. These leaders have gone above and beyond to support Creating Futures which provides free IT training and certification opportunities to populations who have historically been under-represented in the IT workforce, including U.S. military veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, minorities, at-risk youth and dislocated workers. This year, we’re honoring: Ri ...

Looks like creativity and IT go hand in hand.  We asked you to submit your three-minute videos for our PitchIT contest for Breakaway, showcasing the best new products and businesses in the IT channel.  Your videos were creative and entertaining, but most importantly, you showed us that you can sell IT. Our top eight finalists based on vote count (note, we took away votes received repeatedly from the same IP address as we talked about in our voting scandal post) are…drum roll, please:Coolest New ...

At last the mighty task is done;Resplendent in the western sunThe Bridge looms mountain high;Its titan piers grip ocean floor,Its great steel arms link shore with shore,Its towers pierce the sky. These words were penned in 1937 upon completion of the Golden Gate Bridge by chief engineer Joseph Straus. The poem captures both the vision and grandeur of this modern marvel; considered one of the finest civil engineering achievements of the 20th century. What is most remarkable about the bridge is th ...

Our Breakaway show floor is teaming with special offers and new product launches for the IT channel.  Check out our latest daily round-up of who and what to see next week in San Antonio.This year the current U.S. capital gains tax rate is due to expire on 12/31/2010. Most observers in the merger and acquisition industry are estimating that business owners will have to forfeit an additional 5-10 percent of their business equity if a sale of their business does not complete by the end of the year. ...

This past week there was a lot of coverage of cybersecurity measures and their effect on government agencies as well as the private sector. Recent estimates valued the material impact of cybercrime on top U.S. organizations at $171 million dollars annually.  Meanwhile, various federal departments and agencies are starting to mobilize their efforts on cybersecurity.  In addition to cybersecurity threats, health IT is an important issue that has been gaining the attention of inside the b ...

Policymakers and the military are continuing their focus on cybersecurity, with the military stepping up hiring, nations acknowledging the threat of cybersecurity and HHS working to strengthen security around online medical records.  Meanwhile, DowJones VentureSource has announced an upswing in VC investments.  The stories below highlight key policy news from the week of July 19.Military Stepping Up Cybersecurity Hiring – The Air Force has granted hiring officials special authority to use a stre ...

 “May the dreams of your past be the reality of your future,” remains one of my favorite quotes of all time. The author is unknown, but it truly summarizes the wishes of most 12 year olds. While I’m still waiting for my own personal jet pack to be delivered, new and  innovative technologies are introduced to the masses each and every day. Imagine running into a time traveler from 1970, visiting  the local electronics store for the first time in 2010. There are a host of things he wouldn’t recogn ...

Submitted by guest blogger MJ ShoerIn the book Drive by Daniel Pink, the author includes a fantastic chapter on Purpose in Chapter 6.  I somewhat struggled with the differentiation of Motivation 2.0 and Motivation 3.0 up to this chapter, but Pink’s correlation of purpose to these really brought things into clarity for me.  Simply stated, Motivation 3.0 brings to the table to concept that today’s professional is looking for much more than a lucrative paycheck to feel valued as a person and an emp ...

Those who enjoy baseball know that the game is as much about information and strategy as it is about skill. The most arcane player statistics are assembled and used to help managers make crucial decisions throughout a game. Picture a right handed starting pitcher facing a right handed batter in the eighth inning, with two runners on base and one out. Both managers will analyze the situation and consult a myriad of statistics before sending instructions to their team that could make the differenc ...

 At Breakaway, you’ll know you’ll learn new tips and make new connections to improve your business.  But hey folks, it’s summer time – time to kick back and party.  We’re planning a full-on Texas party for you, hoedown style.We’ll transport you to the Knibbe Ranch on Tuesday, August 10th.  Air-conditioned buses will depart at 6:30 p.m. for a 20-25 minute ride.  We’ll also outfit you with cowboy hats and bandannas, but wear your own jeans and boots.  Once at the ranch: Watch an authentic, profess ...

Submitted by guest blogger John MehrmannDaniel Pink drives right to the heart of what matters with his latest book, DRIVE. He cites numerous case studies, historical references, and clinical examples to demonstrate the intrinsic and practical pursuit of excellence. The examples are fascinating, but one need look no further than his or her own work environment to immediately recognize the simple truths illuminated in his work.In the chapter on Mastery, Daniel Pink clearly conveys the value of mot ...

Note: This is the eighth of eight blog entries in which I examine managed services best practices identified in the CompTIA MSP Partners 2010 market research.What is your most valuable asset? No, I’m not talking about your winning smile or superior intelligence… but the asset that is most import to your business success. Here’s a hint to what I’m looking for: I once worked for a CEO who told me “I’d rather lose a good customer than a good employee.” His point was simple; a good employee is more ...

Author Robert C. Gallagher once quipped “change is inevitable-except from a vending machine.” In the IT industry, change is something we hear about every day.  It seems that the latest trend or fad is always just around the corner, ready to revolutionize our industry and turn traditional businesses upside down.For those of us who have been in the IT industry for a significant length of time, we have learned how to weather this constant barrage of change. For every noteworthy innovation or indust ...

Despite the occasional news report of a major cloud outage, there is no shortage of demand for SaaS offerings these days. If you pay attention to social media sites and other online communities/message boards, you likely think the majority of technology users are logged into a cloud solution on their iPad or netbook. Truthfully, there is a great deal of progress to make before we reach that point in web-application delivery (although Apple would surely want it now), but what’s fueling all this g ...

Submitted by guest blogger Sue KrautbauerIt’s a beautiful thing when seemingly disparate ideas intersect. In the book  Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, David H. Pink examines traditional theories of motivation which utilize external rewards and brilliantly contrasts them with research in psychology and behavioral science that states an individual is successfully motivated by intrinsic rewards.The way we have always done things isn’t working.  The baby boomer generation is bur ...