How to Do Business in a Mobile World is Key Theme at CompTIA Annual Member Meeting

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IT Channel Leaders Connect at Fourth Annual Event
 
Chicago, March 15, 2013 – CompTIA, the non-profit association for the information technology (IT) industry, concluded its fourth Annual Member Meeting here this week with heavy focus on how to do business in an increasingly mobile world where technology users expect and demand anytime, anywhere, any device access to applications and information.

The annual meeting brings together IT channel leaders to network with peers; discuss and strategize on issues affecting their business; learn about trends shaping the IT industry; and provide direction for new initiatives and programs from CompTIA.

CompTIA President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux shared a preview of some of the new initiatives coming from the association in 2013. Several of those initiatives center on making CompTIA’s programs more accessible.

“Our benefits are PC-centric,” Thibodeaux said. “We want to make all of our training and certification products more accessible – anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

One such effort announced this week by CompTIA is the upcoming availability of new e-learning training programs in cloud computing, mobile technologies and IT security for IT channel businesses.

The keynote speech was delivered by noted sports agent, author and speaker Molly Fletcher, who told attendees that many of the lessons she’s learned in the arena of professional sports are applicable to the IT industry

“Both businesses are highly competitive,” Fletcher noted. “We have to over deliver consistently to the people we work with.”

The mobility theme also emerged during discussions at CompTIA Colloquium, the annual conference and networking event for the IT training industry, co-located with the Annual Member Meeting.

One speaker argued that we’re now in “The Age of Personal Learning,” in which individuals expect to take control of their own personal learning experiences and organizations will have to adjust to meet those expectations.

“They want it now, and if you don’t give it to them, they will find it somewhere else,” said Doug Howard, chief executive officer and founder of TrainingIndustry.com.

CompTIA is responding to the changing landscape of training, education and certification, said Terry Erdle, executive vice president of skills certification for the association. This year CompTIA will deliver more content tools, robust products for mobile platforms and other innovations to address the need to fill the pipeline with more skilled and certified IT workers.

“There are IT jobs available today and the number is growing,” Erdle said. “But that message does not get out enough. We’re not putting enough people into the IT workforce.”

CompTIA Member Communities Meet

Eleven of CompTIA’s member communities and advisory councils also met this week in Chicago. These groups bring together thought leaders from across the IT industry to collaborate and consult on best practices, education, research and other initiatives to advance industry growth.

For example, CompTIA’s IT Services and Support Community is investigating the feasibility of creating an industry-wide clearinghouse to validate and track technical certifications held by IT service technicians. The clearinghouse would allow potential clients and customers to validate a technician’s qualifications, including training, certifications and specialties.

The CompTIA Cloud/SaaS Community heard a presentation from author Todd Nielsen, who asserted that we are approaching “a perfect storm for cloud computing,” because technology innovation continues, Internet availability continues to grow in geographic reach and speed, and we’re raising a generation of children on constant access to technology. Nielsen concluded that the time to execute the cloud is now.

CompTIA’s new Telecom Advisory Council also met this week for the first time. This group is tasked with providing strategic insight and vendor-neutral guidance on the evolving and expanding relationships between agents who resell telecom services and IT firms that focus on data needs.

IT Hall of Fame
Another highlight of the annual conference is the induction of new members into the IT Hall of Fame. Three new members joined the hall this year.

Victor Hayes played a leading role in shepherding the development of the Wi-Fi technology used in millions of wireless networks in homes and offices around the world.

Jim Ciccarelli, president of Connecting Point of America, helped pioneered a new franchise model within the computer retail industry. Under the leadership of Ciccarelli and others, the company became a billion-dollar reseller and distribution organization

C. Wayne Ratliff designed and wrote the Vulcan Database Management Program while working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1978. This program became known as Ashton-Tate's dBASE, the first widely used database management software for the personal computer.

About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit www.comptia.org, http://www.facebook.com/CompTIA and http://twitter.com/comptia.

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