CompTIA Blog

It’s a challenge to build a successful company into a viable long-term entity. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first five years, while two-thirds of organizations close their doors before celebrating a ten-year anniversary. The reasons are numerous; from cash flow issues or the departure of a key employee to planned obsolescence and mergers.These challenges are felt by IT services businesses, especially given the complex ...

Gerardo Lorenzana, computer science teacher at Centro Cultural Anahuac, shows students how to assemble a computer. A prep school in Mexico City is doing its part to educate and enlighten a region for generations to come. With an assist from CompTIA, both the faculty and student body of Centro Cultural Anahuac are leading the way in technical skills and environmental know-how that extend beyond the classroom. The private institution became the first of its kind in the country to roll CompTIA ...

IT workers have to be careful to speak so their listeners can understand. "No matter how talented you are with computers, you have to learn to communicate with all types of people and translate your ideas into their language," says Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach. IT workers have to have sharp communication skills in order to succeed. Such skills don't always come naturally, but they can be learned. "Just like with baseball playing and piano playing, you can actually improve ...

Passing of new cybersecurity legislation may have to wait until next year. Tech and telecom companies stepped up networking efforts at both national conventions. Obama plans to appoint a secretary of business.The passing of new cybersecurity legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure may have to wait until next year, said The Hill. Even though Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Congress to act swiftly and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he is planning to bring the issue to the ...

CompTIA is looking for digital information management professionals to participate in a beta exam of the updated CompTIA CDIA+ certification. IT professionals can take the test for free — and will be certified if they pass — but will not get their scores until the new exam version is released in 2013. Beta testing is one of the final steps in the CompTIA exam development process. Beta testers take a version of the exam with more questions than will be on the final exam. CompTIA uses beta tester ...

You don’t need to hold an MBA or be a CPA to run an IT channel organization, though either probably helps. Few solution providers have a formal education in business, human resources or finance, yet many manage dozens – perhaps even hundreds or thousands – of highly skilled employees. Acquiring office skills and insight isn’t easy for many tech-oriented individuals, just as gaining computer and network technology expertise would likely be no simple task for most executives.Not to underestimate a ...

Takeaway of the week is another bit of reinforcement that skillsets in the mobile arena are a hot commodity if applied properly. Demand in this sector is only going to increase in the coming months while firms learn how to properly evaluate candidates. Some might apply the "Moneyball" mantra while others may throw piles of money. What's Hot? Mobile Skills Roles within the mobile space are in demand for firms on both sides of "the pond" with steady increases expected, new research shows. Feedbac ...

This year has been the tipping point for cloud. For the last four to five years, we heard that cloud – basically, Internet-delivered solutions – was about to go mainstream. But in 2012 it’s gone beyond hype; with real user benefits driving adoption.People are not just looking for cloud-based solutions for the sake of doing so; instead, they are finding solutions to real problems via cloud. Meanwhile, some users are unknowingly using a cloud-based solution already – either in business or their pe ...

We continue to see doom and gloom news about the future of the software distribution channel, in particular how it’s being impacted by the global recession, catalog providers and, most importantly, the cloud security delivery model. We already know that cloud software will change the security landscape as we know it today and it looks likely to change the software marketplace as well.In my opinion, this change is long needed, and for the better. Resellers who find the right education and support ...

Supporters of cybersecurity reform last week emphasized the need to pass new legislation. Small business owners in key swing states consider Obama debate victor. Obama supports math and science education at debate. Supporters of cybersecurity reform last week emphasized the need to pass new legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure during conferences, speeches, panels and other events throughout the country, said Politico. Top White House cybersecurity advisor Michael ...

The CompTIA EMEA Members and Partners Conference opened this year with Olympic cyclist, gold medallist and three-time world record holder Chris Boardman. Introduced by CEO Todd Thibodeaux, Boardman inspired the room with a direct and clear lesson on what he believes makes a truly high-performing team. His presentation focused on one clear example – the British Cycling innovation team – which he said is the highest-performing team he has ever worked with.Boardman, who started out as a carpenter j ...

One of the first sessions at today’s CompTIA EMEA member conference focused on the need for channel organizations to move from the traditional “box shifter” business model to becoming managed services providers (MSPs). Nancy Hammervik, SVP of industry relations at CompTIA, led the session. She pointed out that the U.K. is considerably behind the U.S. when it comes to transformation from one channel to the other. In the U.S., she said, more than 75 percent of IT companies now refer to themselves ...

One of the most anticipated events of the morning session at this year’s CompTIA EMEA Conference was the cybersecurity panel led by Pauline Neville-Jones, patron of the Cyber Security Challenge and former UK Security Minister. The panel consisted of James Lyne, director of Technology Strategy at Sophos, who was described as spending “countless hours locked away from sunlight working with the world’s most paranoid businesses,” Sarah Winter from the Bank of England and Clinton Walker of Security A ...

Last summer, Congress passed the Budget Control Act (BCA) in order to raise the debt ceiling. The BCA dictated that in the event that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which was created by the legislation, was unable to find $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, then across-the-board cuts, or sequestrations, would be triggered. The Committee failed to find the necessary spending cuts and thus, sequestration is currently scheduled to go into effect on January 1st, 2013. Sequestration wil ...

Like it or not, today’s business is driven by the world economy. World markets and international manufacturing have a profound effect on literally everything we buy and sell, and that interconnect is sure to grow in the future, as companies and countries leverage their combined resources. There are as typically more similarities than differences in the organizational and technology issues facing businesses in each region, with the legislation and culture the biggest variables.The IT channel is k ...