CompTIA Blog

A look at the week of September 4 in public advocacy for the IT channel: Veterans are finding it harder to find work and harsh economic times are forcing employers to downsize and thus exclude more former soldiers from being hired, says CBS News. The Democratic Party – outlining its platform heading into the Democratic National Convention – affirmed that President Obama will be taking executive action to ensure American businesses and consumers are safe from cyber attacks, says the Washington Po ...

Ultimate Knowledge Institute (UKI) and Examplify, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CompTIA, have partnered to develop the industry's first social media security exam and certification. The new Social Media Security Professional (SMSP) certification designates professionals with the knowledge and skills to safeguard sensitive information and prevent potentially devastating security breaches emerging from social media channels. The SMSP beta exam, powered by CompTIA, will be available starting Sept. ...

John Mehrmann The powers of technology and human motivation have been central to John Mehrmann's decades-long career. When he started as a service operations manager at Toshiba America Consumer Products in 1986, business was done via fax machine and maybe a personal AOL email account. Advancing to progressively more responsible roles within Toshiba's service operations, Mehrmann latched onto new technologies to develop websites, implement call centers, automate business processes, and integr ...

This election cycle CompTIA has joined several of its tech association peers and several IT company sponsors in hosting receptions in Tampa and Charlotte honoring the contributions of innovation to our economy. Our objective is to continue to highlight to policy-makers the diversity of the industry and the fact that it is driven not just by large OEMs and service providers but also by tens of thousands of small- and medium-sized tech companies and entrepreneurs. This week in Tampa, the Republi ...

Takeaway of the week is how helpful it often is to step back and take stock of career decisions from a "big picture" perspective, whether that means an analytical career assessment tool or choosing the right resources to achieve that career goal in the first place. Then again, sometimes it all comes down to the money. CompTIA A+ Among 'Certifications That Deliver Career Advancement' CompTIA A+ is one of 12 certifications that delivers career advancement, according to CIO magazine. CompTIA A+, w ...

Whenever new trends or business opportunities comes along, each typically has its own “shelf life” or time-period when companies can either take advantage of it, or see it fade away. We often see that happen in the tech and consumer industries, where the first to design and produce a quality product   typically leads the market. But that’s where the IT channel differs.Product sales are often infrequent, and consumers can be quite erratic with what they purchase and use every day. When better thi ...

CompTIA’s IT Business Growth Professionals Community (ITBGP) debuted a business assessment tool designed to help small- to medium-sized businesses evaluate strengths and weaknesses within their company.The sole purpose of the business assessment tool is to allow individual companies to candidly assess their current position in a variety of business disciplines, to define which areas would benefit from improvement and determine which areas hold the highest priority for the company to improve upon ...

A look at the week of August 28 in public advocacy for the IT channel: Michelle Obama announced in Florida last week that 2,000 businesses have trained or hired more than 125,000 military veterans and spouses, exceeding the White House goal of 100,000 for 2012, says the Associated Press. Federal regulators warned yesterday through a statement that our existing federal laws may not protect “against fast-moving cybersecurity threats,” says CNET. Former senior director for cybersecurity ...

As mobile computing and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies are on the rise in corporate environments, there is a growing demand for certified technicians with the knowledge to deliver services for Mac and/or iOS mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.According to Computerworld’s recent forecast survey looking at hiring trends in 2012, 61% of IT executives plan to hire people with skills in programming and application development, the area of mobility where companies will be focusing the m ...

With the CompTIA African Partner Conference less than a month away, the agenda is set and event details are nearly finalized to bring together CompTIA partners and members from across Africa to participate in some cross-community networking.This year’s conference is scheduled for September 13th at the Blue Valley Golf and Country Estate in Midrand, South Africa, and will feature an agenda packed full of speakers, panels and information sessions that will focus on the value of IT training and cer ...

Takeaway of the week is that while it may not appear that way to long-term unemployed IT pros, the job market for experienced and highly-skilled technical professionals remains red hot without any signs of easing up - emphasis on the "highly-skilled" part. That's right, the skills gap remains a thing which explains why overseas outsourcing snaps up some roles and others don't always go to the most well-suited candidates. Finding the Needle in the Haystack Talk the tech talk. Trumpet the perks. G ...

The latest CompTIA Small Business Owners (SBO) Community is ready to help. Rather than focusing on a specific vertical market or technology, this group concentrates on business improvement methods, educational programs, and the tools to build a successful organization. As a true “peer community,” SBO members are solution providers and experienced IT industry professionals who understand the value of sharing suggestions and ideas.The group’s educational initiatives are paying off, yielding a numb ...

Jeremiah Gaches, Project HIRED Warrior Workforce client and decorated Army veteran, is now able to return to work in an office environment, thanks to support services from Project HIRED and its Wounded Warrior Workforce Service Dog Program. With the support of his canine partner, Rocky, Gaches now lives independently and holds a position through a Project HIRED AbilityOne contract for call center services at the Livermore, CA VA Medical facility. Companies looking for qualified IT job appli ...

A look at the week of August 21 in public advocacy for the IT channel: Large retail chains like Walmart and Amazon are fighting to make sure that small businesses are taxed as much as they are under future online tax legislation, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. Small business owners were less optimistic about their future sales and growth in July, says The Hill. Republican senators are still debating the merits and details of online sales tax legislation, says the Daily Caller.Internet Tax Wars: ...

CompTIA will add performance-based questions to its CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certification exams in the coming months.Performance-based questions require exam candidates to perform a task or solve a problem within a simulated IT environment to demonstrate specific knowledge or skills. Currently, the three exams employ only multiple-choice questions.The CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) exam, introduced in September 2011, was the first CompTIA exam to employ ...