Canadian IT Services Group Drives Key Industry Initiatives

It’s been a busy day so far at the IT Services and Support Executive Forum meeting in Toronto, as the group shifted into discussions on certification and initiatives updates, as well as a review of the new CompTIA Communities.

Initiatives are central to many of the organization’s goals. CompTIA members have started a variety of industry programs to strengthen the services industry and promote the groups’ initiatives. One example of this is the Canadian OEM PDI+ adoption program, a unique initiative developed between several printing OEMs to significantly increase early adoption of the certification standard in Canada. The results of this collaborative effort have been very good, with additional promotions planned for this certification in 2010.

Another program, the Service Delivery Optimization (SDO) initiative is at the heart of this community’s mission, to research and publish the best practices and tools that improve the services industry. With the ultimate goal of creating an accreditation, the group is building a business plan and putting together the key ingredients to make this a valued industry program with substantial support. The group is being very diligent in their research to ensure they aren’t duplicating efforts of other industry organizations.

The Green IT initiative is another high profile program in the IT Services and Support Executive Forum. Shelagh Kerr, President and CEO of Electronic Product Stewardship Canada enlightened the group on her organization’s mission in a keynote address: to design, promote and implement sustainable solutions for Canada’s electronic waste problem. The organization works as an advocate for the electronics industry, encouraging efforts to implement and follow Green IT programs, including recycling and disposal guidelines. Vendor members include including a literal “Who’s Who” of leading technology companies, from Apple and HP to IBM and Epson.

EPSC is working with both the industry and government to develop workable approaches to technology recycling and redeployment, with a focus on solutions that don’t cause excessive burden on businesses and Canadian communities. With a multitude of technology refreshes driving new business for IT service providers (Windows 7 desktop upgrades are a great example), the topic has become a priority for both manufacturers and local governments, with education on proper disposal and recycling techniques coming to the forefront.

One benefit from membership in one of the seven CompTIA Communities (such as the IT Services and Support Executive Forum) is involvement in initiatives discussed in this meeting. The leaders and committees are formed from the group constituents, aided in their mission by the resources and employees of CompTIA. If you’d like to lead industry critical program development, or just have a voice in their creation, check out the CompTIA Communities page or contact  communities@comptia.org