CompTIA Blog

Learn to position yourself as a trusted expert so that when your target market needs you, they come for you — that’s the message from marketing expert Scott Stratten, president of UnMarketing Inc. and the keynote speaker for CompTIA’s 2015 Annual Member Meeting.

Why should you care about CES, with its focus on consumer electronics destined for brick-and-mortar retail and online sales? Because ignoring consumer electronics today means you’re ignoring the wants and needs of your business customers as well.

Richard Rieben started working in IT directly out of high school after garnering skills revolving around geographical information systems. Although he was working, Richard knew that educational credentials are an important part of any professional’s resume, so earned three degrees and several industry certifications -- all while finding the time to raise a variety of animals on his family farm, including sheep, rabbits, chickens, turkeys and miniature donkeys.

In this member profile, we talk to Lester Keizer about his impact on the IT channel, from board, community and council assignments to public advocacy efforts at the local and national levels. His current project involves the TechAmerica DC Fly-In, where he works to provide access and funding for rural IT education and school bandwidth, something this Nevada resident finds personally meaningful.

The seventh annual MSPmentor 250 list highlights the comprehensive strength of CompTIA’s Managed Services Community and its members. See who made the list, and why the community’s collaborative efforts are truly noteworthy.

CompTIA members and registered users downloaded more content than ever in 2014, using our vendor-neutral resources to get an edge over the competition. See what people are reading in CompTIA’s Most Popular Downloads.

It’s that time of year; when many resolve to make personal improvements that may have eluded them for the past 12 months. But regardless of whether you’re still getting any use out of that new gym membership come spring, now is the perfect time to look into or even start training for one of CompTIA’s broad range of IT certifications.

From the digital wallet to gadget equilibrium, our senior director of technology analysis Seth Robinson offers his take on the end-of-year trends in tech, and what they mean for 2015.

A division of Computers for Youth distributed laptops to 775 sixth grade students and their families at local, low-income middle schools in Atlanta thanks to a $12,500 donation from three of CompTIA’s Communities and Councils. The computers will help the students understand the power of digital learning tools. Read more.

What’s keeping women from entering the IT field and — more importantly — what can we do to change the trend? “First off, we need to change their perception of what a career in IT and the IT channel really means,” said Mary Ellen Grom, ‎vice president of U.S. marketing for SYNNEX Corporation and an executive council member of CompTIA’s Advancing Women in IT Community (AWIT). “We need to discuss how they can take their passion and education and find the right application for it in the industry.”

AWIT’s Doriana Allyn looks back at the progress of the CompTIA Community and what’s in store for 2015, including a four-part webinar series designed for women working in IT.

The education market is a good target for today’s channel, according to CompTIA’s latest study, “The Changing Classroom: Perspectives from Students and Educators on the Role of Technology.” As educators realize the benefits to student performance, achievement mandates and overall efficiency, information technology will continue to increase in importance — and spending.

Most people have little concern with new location devices and cameras used to track data, but what happens when private companies not only access the data, but sell it to others? Channel companies offering surveillance and public safety need to be open and honest about what their systems can and can’t do, and start considering a variety of ethical issues.

CompTIA Councils and Communities donated $15,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project in 2014, including a $5,000 donation from the CompTIA Vendor and Telecom Advisory Councils. In this piece, Exigo’s Stephanie Martin shares her experience delivering the check to the group and how the organization is helping returning veterans.

Educators are always looking for ways to make learning more engaging, and students believe technology in school makes learning more interesting and fun, according to new research from CompTIA. In a rare agreement, both groups want to increase technology in the classroom, particularly by way of laptop PCs, tablets and high-speed Internet access.