CompTIA Blog

Last Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) delivered his 2015 State of the State address to a joint session of the Texas House and Senate. In his remarks, Governor Abbott laid out his legislative priorities and detailed a roadmap to achieve his agenda. The Governor also announced five emergency items: early education, higher education research

Last week I attended a fly-in in Washington, D.C., that was organized by the TechAmerica division of CompTIA. More than 21 technology associations from Technology Councils of North America participated in the two-day event.

In our 2015 IT Industry Outlook, CompTIA identified four technology trends that we expect to play out over the upcoming year, plus counter trends that will still be driving business decisions without always making splashy headlines. Read analyst Seth Robinson’s take on why IT’s future is built on the recent past.

The future of broadband, the reality of cybersecurity and the logistics of high-skilled immigration reform were discussed at length by IT experts and Washington insiders during the 2015 TechAmerica D.C. Fly-In, organized by TechAmerica — the public sector and public advocacy department of CompTIA and the Technology Councils of North America (TECHNA).

Business transformation is — or should be —an ongoing journey. Tweaking, tinkering and constant review are part of the process, but many channel firms fail to recognize this. They start with a transformative activity, but fail to follow the plan to its full evolution. Learn to keep pace in today’s market with insight from CompTIA researcher Carolyn April.

Wearable technologies — while interesting and sometimes intriguing — might not seem like the right fit for your business, but because of competition and the continued commoditization of this type of technology, there’s no better time to explore viable and profitable solutions in this space.

The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 636, “America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2015.” This legislation would permanently reinstate the 2014 small business expensing limitation of $500,000. The limitation was decreased to $25,000 beginning on 2015. TechAmerica has long called for the higher $500,000 limitation to be permanently extended.

State of Texas technology contracts—specifically Texas Cooperative Contracts—have recently drawn increased scrutiny from the Governor’s office, legislators, and media. As lawmakers work to craft appropriate solutions and reforms, TechAmerica, the public policy arm of CompTIA, has expressed its support for the transparency and accountability measures outlined by Governor Abbott, Speaker Straus, and the proposed bills by Senator Nelson and Rep. Price in SB 353 and HB 1027.

A nonprofit dedicated to reducing — and hopefully eliminating — the gender gap in technology received a charitable donation from CompTIA that will help spread the TechGirlz message outside the mid-Atlantic region and impact more than 1,500 girls in just one school year.

Even in a city where partisanship is a way of life, there are glimmers of hope that 2015 will be a year in which Congress gets down to work on issues that drive the nation’s $1 trillion information technology economy.

Life was not always easy for Osvaldo De Coo when he was working as a security guard. With bills to pay and a family to feed, he found himself doing what he had to do to get by. CompTIA A+ certification helped him escape that with a career in IT.

Business transformation is essential to success, so if your next business transformation isn’t already underway, it’s time to get started. Bring the team together, do some market and industry research and get the plan together ASAP. Your company’s future depends on it. Read more.