Lisa Fasold Posts

Our U.S.-based CompTIA executives finished up a world tour this month which focused, in part, on how IT certification is advancing on the global stage.  They found that CompTIA’s set of Strata certificates get a warm reception abroad.CompTIA's Strata program offers fundamental-to-advanced certificates that validate a wide range of subjects in IT. Students and professionals holding a Strata certificate demonstrate that they have the knowledge required to enter and excel in IT and technology-relat ...

More than 1,000 industry leaders were in attendance at our annual Breakaway conference this month in San Antonio. But what? You missed it?We can’t replace the networking that you missed, but we’ll try to update you on the host of the learing opportunities available at the event. The Channel Vanguard Council (CVC), a thought-leadership advisory group to CompTIA, powered two special presentations – transformative revenue models and rethinking sales compensation plans. The idea behind these session ...

Philanthropic representatives from a dozen leading IT companies met with the CompTIA Educational Foundation as part of its first-ever IT Philanthropy Summit last week during Breakaway. The invitation-only summit provided participants the opportunity to leverage and collaborate with other leaders to make all industry philanthropic programs more effective.The attendees represented AMD, Applied Materials, CDW, Dell, IBM, Intel, iSys, Microsoft, SalesForce.com Foundation, Symantec, VMware and Xerox. ...

You voted and the winners of this year’s Best of Breakaway Awards are: Best Product – Software: ConnectWise Best Product – Hardware: CharTec Best Partner Program: Reflexion Networks Inc. Best Channel Strategy: Autotask Best New Product: ClearCenter Best of Show: ConnectWiseFrom our recruitment contest which encouraged partners and vendors to bring the most attendees to Breakaway, MSP University joined the Winner’s Circle.From our PitchIT video contest in which attendees and vendors submitted thr ...

What do the Cheshire Cat, Sun Tzu (author of The Art of War) and Humpty Dumpty have in common?  Each one had advice for resellers seeking to stand out in today’s crowded IT field.  Their words of wisdom were delivered by Bill Brandt, managing partner, SWOT Management Group, and Bob Dirkes, director of account services and media coach at Tech Image, during a breakout session at CompTIA’s Breakaway Wednesday morning in San Antonio.  The presentation – “Differentiating Your Elevator Sales Pitch: Ma ...

The Breakaway Technology Vendor Fair officially opens today at 3:15 p.m.  We’ve been reporting the news to be announced there for the last week, and we’ll keep doing so all this week.  Check out below some of the announcements being made at Breakaway and decide which new tools might be a good fit for your business.Spiceworks Inc. (Booth #1114) released a new version of its free IT management software with features specifically designed to help MSPs better service their client networks. Some of t ...

Breakaway brings you the best of tools for VARs and MSPs, but there’s also a whole track of sessions dedicated to the certification audience.  Hear about the new academic version of the CompTIA Authorized Partner Program (CAPP), an introduction to the Getting America Back to Work initiative, plus updates from Academic Advisory Council members. Technology educators need access to the most current information to keep their skills sharp. CompTIA has launched several online resources for educators.  ...

Breakaway brings you the best of tools for VARs and MSPs, but there’s also a whole track of sessions dedicated to the certification audience.  Hear about the new academic version of the CompTIA Authorized Partner Program (CAPP), an introduction to the Getting America Back to Work initiative, plus updates from Academic Advisory Council members. Technology educators need access to the most current information to keep their skills sharp. CompTIA has launched several online resources for educators.  ...

Breakaway has begun.  The golfers teed off this morning for the Creating Futures Charity Golf Classic.  Catch the photos of the golfers heading to the tees. More than 1,000 IT channel leaders are expected this week at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.  It’s gorgeous here, folks.  If you’re not here, you’re missing out.  I’ll post photos of the beautiful scenery later today just to show you what you’re missing.  But really, jump in your car or hop on a plane and head over.Bey ...

As the U.S. economy continues to recover, TEKsystems, a leading technology staffing and services company, found that more organizations are feeling increasingly optimistic about their contingent hiring for the next quarter. While 23 percent of companies planned to increase their temporary IT hiring in the second quarter of this year, according to TEKsystems research, 29 percent plan to do so in the third quarter. TEKsystems, a Breakaway sponsor (Booth #708), helps clients successfully plan, buil ...