CompTIA Members Stress IT Industry's Importance to Policymakers

In more than 50 meetings on Capitol Hill today, CompTIA members from across the country stressed how instrumental small- and medium-sized IT companies are to the nation's economy.

Members who attended CompTIA's Washington DC Fly-In event discussed specific legislation with elected officials and legislative staff, as well as the recurring themes of access to capital for small- and medium-sized companies, cybersecurity, and IT workforce development.

Even in a down economy, IT worker unemployment is low and more than 450,000 IT jobs nationwide are unfilled. Incentivizing businesses to hire and train employees in current IT skills would go a long way to rectifying that disconnect, said Mark Miller, CEO of New Horizons Worldwide.

"IT isn't vertical, it's horizontal. It touches everything," Robert Kratzke, president of GlobeNet Training, told Rep. Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania. "It's an amazing opportunity for people."

Wendy Frank, president of Accell Security, stressed the need for a national standard for data security.

"Ninety percent of the country doesn't have those laws to protect people," she said. "It's a situation for the public, and for us in technology."

She suggested a federal standard similar to Massachusetts's recent data security law that sets requirements for any business that deals with individuals' personal information electronically, such as encrypting files that pass over public networks and having up-to-date security software.

Paul Sass, Deputy Staff Director at the House Small Business Committee, told CompTIA members that the committee plans to push for a higher percentage of federal contracts to be required to go to small businesses.

"And we're trying to find ways to give the law more teeth," so there are repercussions for federal agencies that don't meet the requirements, he said.

CompTIA members said they appreciated the time to speak to policymakers, and several noted they now have specific individuals they can follow up with on certain proposals and ideas.

"We didn't solve any big issues today, but we've opened the door for ongoing communication," Miller said.

Making those connections was one of the goals of the day. Another was stressing the importance of the IT channel, particularly the role of small- and medium-sized IT companies in it, said Liz Hyman, CompTIA vice president of public advocacy. Seventy-five percent of all IT products and services are sold or provided to businesses through the channel, as opposed to retailers and direct sales, she said.

"SMBs are the glue of this industry," she said. "We want to get light bulbs going off in those offices about how important small and medium IT businesses are."