CompTIA Blog

Knowledge of computer science (CS) is likely to help you get a job, but the actual numbers behind this are even more encouraging: New programming jobs are growing three times faster than the number of students entering the field. More than 50 percent of all math and science jobs are for computer scientists. Computer science jobs are the highest-paying jobs for new graduates. Software powers our economy, but less than 2.4 percent of college students graduate with a CS degree. That means there a ...

This guest blog entry was written by Larry Walsh of Channelnomics. Vendors and solution providers give critical areas of channel operations and performance mediocre grades in the inaugural Channel Perceptions: Vendors vs. Partners Report by The 2112 Group, finding the channel to be an underperforming go-to-market system for sales and technical support. Vendors and solution providers have strong opinions about the value and performance of the channel. Vendors see solution providers as an int ...

This guest blog entry was written by Larry Walsh of Channelnomics. Generally speaking, solution providers understand that conflict with their vendor’s direct sales teams will happen occasionally. But, poor channel conflict management that makes the problem chronic will cause them to take actions that ultimately cost their vendors money, according to the Second Annual Channel Conflict Report by the 2112 Group. One-third of solution providers say they will drop a vendor that poorly manages c ...

The European Union’s movement towards stricter privacy rules has the potential to affect any American company involved in data collection and storage, even those that have no connection to Europe at all. Last Monday, the EU took the next step towards strengthening its data protection laws when the Civil Liberties Committee voted to approve new, stricter privacy regulations on how companies collect, store and share data on European citizens. The full European Parliament is expected to vote ...

Please join us on Wednesday, November 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET to learn more about the new crowdfunding rules just released by the SEC. These new rules will implement the crowdfunding provisions of the “JOBS Act,” which permits a company to raise up to $1 million during a 12-month period. Generally, investors who have an annual income and net worth under $100,000 would be allowed to invest the greater of $2,000 or 5 percent of income during a 12-month period. Investors who have either net ...

CompTIA Subject Matter Expert Tenette Prevatte began working in IT to make a car payment. Fast forward nearly 20 years, Prevatte is department chair for information systems security at Fayetteville (NC) Technical Community College, where she also teaches in-person and online classes. She encourages those who want to get into IT to get experience wherever possible. “Being able to troubleshoot is something no instructor can teach you how to do. That’s just something that comes from experience,” she said.

After a slight delay due to the government shutdown, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft cybersecurity framework that sets voluntary standards and guidelines. As you may recall, this framework was required under the President’s “Executive Order on Cybersecurity” that Obama issued in February 2013. The framework is the result of four different workshops that were held around the country in which NIST consulted with industry and governme ...

At some institutions, paying and sitting for certification exams is an option, rather than a requirement. But for students of Fortis College in Centerville, OH, this is not the case. Here, tuition covers the cost of test vouchers, while taking and passing at least two certification exams constitutes a prerequisite for graduation. The latter requirement not only helps more graduates find jobs faster; it distinguishes the school from similar local institutions.

GFN AG found that many career changers and newcomers to the IT industry didn’t have the extensive previous knowledge for vendor-specific certifications. In their search for a suitable, universally recognized certification, GFN AG soon found exactly what they were looking for: The CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ certifications.

Time and personnel limitations frequently dictate a company’s priorities. That creates a challenge for any solution provider attempting to grow a successful IT services organization. Those shortages not only impede a company’s operations and make it more difficult to focus on their customers’ needs, but they also hinder the strategies and goals outlined in their long-term business plan. With IT channel organizations, that struggle is repeated all too often, which may help expl ...

An overarching theme at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year has been defining Big Data and its role across our members’ and partners’ organisations. A panel of experts from across the industry stripped back some of the layers surrounding this all encompassing and often misunderstood area of IT in a session chaired by Carl West, business group director, IT, office and stationery, GfK Retail and Technology UK.  So is big data relevant to small busine ...

Social media expert DK talked about how to embed a social media culture in your organization at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year. He argued we’ve moved on from talking about how to blog and tweet. We’ve even moved on from social media strategy. We now need to be talking about a social media culture. And, he stressed, that goes beyond social media marketing. We need to deepen the social media conversation beyond how it can be used as a marketing tool. He ...

John Kaufman discussed the art of differentiation when selling IT and IT training at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year. Sales, he said, is not just a financial exchange – it is the art of influencing. We should learn from our everyday interactions with people to become better salespeople. Using clips from the movie Hitch, in which Will Smith plays a suave dating guru, he explained how influencers can differentiate themselves. He urged delegates to remember tha ...

Lawrence Rowley, Funding Manager, City and Guilds, discussed the current funding landscape for training programmes that may incorporate IT work experience, training and certification at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year. Rowley said that the UK government’s priorities for skills growth are currently centred around traineeships, apprenticeships and programmes for the unemployed. We’re now seeing a return to protected funding channels for each of these str ...

Tim Harford, Financial Times journalist, Radio 4 presenter and author of the bestselling Undercover Economist delivered the opening keynote on “Innovation and the Art of Good Mistakes” at CompTIA’s EMEA Member & Partner Conference this year. Harford started by explaining marginal improvements – small changes that can make a difference to a business. Here, he praised the IT industry for its successful approach. But he argued that this approach can be too easy, and to ...