Todd Thibodeaux Posts

CompTIA is committed to doing its part in training the tech workforce of tomorrow. As the leading global source of vendor-neutral IT certifications we have a big responsibility. Since the initiation of CompTIA’s programs more than 10 years ago a large part of our focus has been on adult learning. Working with our training partners CompTIA has certified more than 1.2 million people helping them start or transition into a new career.Over the coming months and years we will be placing a larger emph ...

Looking back over the IT news from 2009, I’m struck by a handful of shifts and trends that will have a lasting impact on the IT industry. Here are my top five: The financial meltdown – what started as a panic at the end of 2008 ran well into 2009 with companies laying off staff and seeing some of their worst quarters in history during the first six months of the year. While the banking system has become more stable, credit is still at a trickle. Mergers to add services – Dell, HP, Xerox and othe ...

I was recently on Capitol Hill talking with staffers on both sides of the aisle whose job it is to focus on legislation impacting small businesses. To their credit they are always open to the feedback and ideas of the small business community so we had many opportunities to tell the same disappointing story.As the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was being drafted and put into law our industry was supportive. It wasn’t a perfect bill by any stretch, but there were enough reasons to ...

The channel is embracing social media in a number of ways and not just for staying in touch with partners or vendors but for commerce as well! As your industry trade association, if we’re going to help you make sense of it all we need to get onboard too.Things are changing at CompTIA to better serve our members and the channel as a whole. And while I welcome your calls, emails and notes on any topic this blog will hopefully provide you the chance to stay up-to-date on a more regular basis.I invi ...

There’s no doubt the global IT industry can churn out the news. We’re inundated with news sites, blogs, magazines and opinions on a daily basis. CompTIA has been doing its part to help make sense of it all through our daily SmartBrief newsletter (click here to subscribe) launched several months ago. In a very short time, SmartBrief has seen its audience grow from zero to some 50,000. Subscribers like it because it brings all their favorite sites and feeds together in one easy to use format right ...

I’m just back from the wildly successful CompTIA EMEA Member Conference in the UK where I was struck by how green everything was– and I’m not just talking about the lush landscape. The Green movement was evident everywhere in the UK, from things as simple as switched outlets and compact florescent lighting everywhere, to motion sensing escalators that “sleep” to conserve power and mirrored ceiling panels that reflect light and heat into the stands of the Ascot Racecourse where the event was held ...

As in any relationship, CompTIA’s connection with the industry we represent is ever-evolving. This is especially true of our rapport with the vendor community—a relationship which is undergoing a dramatic transformation. In the past that relationship was based largely on sponsorships (dollars and cents) rather than on membership (engagement and participation). Participation in CompTIA was presented as an “investment” and the ROI for a vendor was calculated almost solely from CompTIA’s ability to ...

Wow, what a show! More than 1,000 IT executives -- including a lot of new faces -- joined us in Las Vegas, Aug 3-6, for a great few days of engaging speakers, informative panels and presentations, interactive vendor exhibits, and lots of networking time and peer-to-peer learning. Oh, and we had some fun too.I received a lot of positive feedback from show attendees throughout the week, and there were two common themes heard throughout:1. There was A LOT of relevant content to help me grow my busi ...