CompTIA Breakaway Blog

During a Board of Directors meeting held in conjunction with Breakaway, CompTIA was directed to: expand its influence on public policy issues affecting the industry; develop new programs to produce a pipeline of skilled tech workers; provide more resources for association members; and become more active in engaging, connecting and informing the industry, media and key leaders about major trends affecting the global IT industry.

“The future direction of CompTIA will be built on these four pillars,” said Robert O’Malley, chairman of the CompTIA Board of Directors. “There are many opportunities for people to contribute to these efforts, and we invite participation from all corners of our industry to join us in becoming ambassadors of all that’s great about the tech industry.”

During a ceremony held Wednesday night at Breakaway 2009, eight IT companies were awarded the Best of Breakaway Award for outstanding products or services.  More than 400 technology resellers and solution providers who attended the annual conference participated in the voting to determine the winners.
 
“The IT industry is powered by a rich blend of software, hardware, services and skills,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and chief executive officer, CompTIA. “We’re pleased that many of these companies chose Breakaway as a showcase for their products. On behalf of the worldwide membership of CompTIA, congratulations to the winners of the Best of Breakaway awards as selected by their industry peers and partners. “
 
The Best of Show award was presented to it Control Solutions, Toronto, which provides IT service providers with a powerful managed services solution, itControl Suite.
 
ClearCenter, based in Salt Lake City and Toronto, and provider of an open service delivery platform tailored to fit the IT needs of small business, won the award for Best New Product.

The Best Channel Strategy award was won by Level Platforms, Ottawa, a leading provider of managed services software for IT solution providers servicing small and midsize end customers.

Motorola, Inc. Schaumburg, Ill., a global communications leader in broadband communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility, public safety solutions, high-definition video and mobile devices, received the award for Best Presentation.

The award for Best Partner Program was presented to Xerox Corporation, Norwalk, Conn., a global leader and innovator in document and office management solutions.

Cisco Systems, Inc., San Jose, Calif., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, received the award for Best Product, Hardware.

Two companies tied for the Best Product, Software award:
Autotask Corporation, East Greenbush, N.Y., the leading SaaS provider of hosted service management tools that allow VARs, managed service providers and other IT service professionals to organize, automate, and better manage their businesses.

ConnectWise, Tampa, Fla., the leading Web-based professional service automation (PSA) software application designed exclusively for technology consultants, integrators and developers.

Other awards presented at the Breakaway dinner included the CompTIA Educational Foundation’s Outstanding Leadership Award to Certiport, American Fork, Utah, which prepares individuals with current and relevant digital skills and credentials for the competitive global workforce; and the CompTIA Services Leadership Award to Doriana Allyn of Brother International, Bridgewater, N.J., one of the premier providers of products for the home, home office and office.

Earlier in the day two awards were presented by the CompTIA Education to Careers (E2C) program, to Russell “Kelly’ Campbell of Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield, Mo.; and to Lansing Community College, Lansing, Mich.

Congratulations to all the Breakaway award winners!

Verne Harnish, founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs' Organization and founder and CEO of Gazelles, Inc., conducted a two-day workshop entitled Strategic Business Planning during Breakaway.  The first day of the hands-on, interactive workshop focused on the development of a one-page strategic business plan.  “I often hear business owners say ‘If I could only get everyone on my team on the same page’ but they must have the page for them to be on!” Harnish said.  On the first day, Harnish walked the workshop participants through the development of the plan, concentrating on people and strategy. Topics included hiring, goal setting, differentiating yourself from your competition and driving alignment and performance within your company.

Part two of the business workshop centered on execution, organized around the highly regarded one-page Rockefeller Habits checklist. Topics included metrics that drive your business, organizational structure and essential habits to efficiently manage your business.  Harnish stressed the importance of getting customer feedback but warned participants that the bulk of customer calls won’t yield much useful data.  “You are looking for that black swan moment,” Harnish said.  He urged participants to regularly and systematically interview customers in pursuit of the useful bit of intelligence that will help them build their businesses.  Also, Harnish suggested that information be regularly shared with the entire team.  “Great companies spend 20% of their weekly meetings discussing what they have learned from customers,” Harnish said.  He illustrated this point with success stories from the business world.

The workshop was very well attended and the audience was highly engaged on both days.  Harnish asked many questions of the audience, surveyed and interviewed them, and made the material directly relevant to the individuals in the audience.  This was truly a workshop – not a lecture, and Harnish is a truly gifted teacher.  Participants came away with the knowledge, tools and motivation they will need to grow their businesses strategically and effectively.  It was easily worth the time.  

Members of the CompTIA Executive Forum had a guest speaker this evening. James Earl, Executive Director of Nevada's Technological Crime Advisory Board, reviewed recent state legislation "relating to security of personal information." Among the issues in play in Nevada? What is the definition of "doing business" in a particular state.

During a dinner keynote address at Breakaway this evening, Representative Darrell Issa (R-California) was interviewed by Larry Irving, president of Irving Information Group and co-chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance. The following are excerpts from Representative Issa’s remarks.  

On the subject of the voice of small business in Washington, Representative Issa suggested that attendees leverage trade associations to plan meetings with the appropriate people in government and approach them with a clear problem and some thoughtful solutions.

“Your trade association is by definition part of how you get heard as a small business. Small business has to be helped very specifically by somebody who knows the needs of that industry or business.  You have a better chance of getting heard through this association than you do through the Chamber (of Commerce) and so on that are all things to all people.”

When asked what if anything government should be doing with regard to broadband Representative Issa had quite a lot to say.

“Broadband is not it is not the deliverance just of data. Broadband is the deliverance of your television signal and other video content including video on demand and certainly phone service.  Other services are going to keep coming. The question is are we going to take our copyright and all of our other laws that have divided up who gets what content, and modernize them… What if we simply said, that whoever you chose to provide (content) to your business or your home -- as long as they provide the full spectrum of services which they all want to do -- you should have the inherent right to get the content…  Then all we have to do is say that we are not allowing contracts that historically said that cable gets this in return for that and terrestrial must give this, those are obsolete.  The consumer should own the right to pick from the pipes that come to their house...  Why shouldn’t the consumer get to say ‘you guys will have to compete, but you can’t compete on the content because I own the rights to the content.’  That’s a change that would be huge… So if this young lady in the front row owned the right to all the content she wanted and then got to choose the carrier, rather than the carrier negotiating and ultimately ending up with a monopoly (on the content) broadband deployment everywhere would be improved by having all the tools.”

Representative Issa went on to discuss his views on cyber security, electronic medical records and the nature of politics.  The awards ceremony began shortly after and is still going on as I write this (stay tuned for information on the award winners).

In the "New Skills That a Teacher Should be Training Right Now" session, Clyde Cox of College of DuPage (COD) in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, told fellow educators that the cost of equipment & courseware for their classes should no longer be the obstacle it once was.  Using free open-source tools, such as the Ekiga softphone, Cox was able to cut in half the cost of developing his Convergence+ course at COD.  Other than cutting out Webcams and wishing there were better textbooks, Cox says the class is comprehensive without breaking the budget.  Ask him more about his techniques by reaching him at coxclyde@cod.edu .

 

Hermine Turner explained how to use virtual machines for technology training in her session: “Quick Change Artist.”  As the Senior Technology Trainer for Focus: Hope ITC (Information Technology Center) — non-profit group promoting growth opportunities for Detroit’s diverse urban community – Turner found that one “can’t teach technology on donated machines.”  Not only is the processing power a few generations behind the curve, but the software is rarely up to date. Budget to address both issues is rarely – if ever – available.  Using virtual machines reduces the number of desktops necessary in the classroom, meaning students literally learn more with less.  Find out more about Turner’s techniques by reaching her at turnerh@focushope.edu .

 

In researching his topic – “What’s Hot Now in a Cold Economy” – Professor Karl Dietrich of Lansing (Michigan) Community College found that demand for IT jobs continues to hold steady and, in some regions, increase.  And another long-standing issue in the IT job market hasn’t gone away either: Employers wanting at least 2 years experience.  How do instructors help students coming out of high school and college beat the experience bug?  By teaching them how to do what every good IT specialist should do: Document, document, document.  Fresh faces in the job market may overcome the lack of on-the-job experience by showing the extent of their classroom training and accomplishments.  How?  Reach out to Dietrich for more at dietrick@lcc.edu .

In his opening day keynote address, CompTIA President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux announced a series of new initiatives aimed at helping technology IT companies drive innovation and growth.

“The future is very bright for our industry,” Thibodeaux told Breakaway attendees. “The world counts on your work to make it all happen. New alternative energy sources won’t be developed without IT. Electronic health records are a pipe dream without IT. The next generation of medications and cures won’t happen without IT. And the intelligent transportation and power grids of the future won’t happen without IT.”

Among the new programs designed to aid the industry and announced today, Thibodeaux said CompTIA will create two new robust online communities for the IT channel.  The CompTIA Channel Community (C3) is intended to be the world’s premier channel-neutral online community.  “C3 will aggregate the best thinking on business solutions, trends, and discussion forums with rich, deep and exclusive content, webinars, whitepapers and business intelligence,” Thibodeaux said. “We’re making this an open platform and we invite other existing forums to become part of C3.”

Another online community, called the CompTIA IT Pro Community, will provide a place for those who want to enter or advance an IT career to solicit expert advice, network with peers and find critical tools and resources. One of these resources is the CompTIA Career Center, which will match certified job seekers with employers trying to fill IT jobs.

Thibodeaux also announced that CompTIA will collaborate with Channel Insider to create the Channel Vanguard Council. Invited executives of IT vendors, distributors and service and solution providers will deliberate on a wide-range of issues including technologies, services, business models and processes and best practices, market influences and conditions and supplier relations.

“The forum will be a collaborative, moderated community exploring issues affecting the IT channel community today and in the future; and producing clear, actionable guidance for the overall channel community,” Thibodeaux explained.

Thibodeaux announced the creation of a new political action committee, CompTIA PAC, which will “focus on the interests of the people in the IT sector as well as the needs of those who own and work for America's 32,000 VARs.”

Other new programs for CompTIA members include the introduction of the CompTIA Member Resource Center, where members can find companies providing services in finance, logistics, HR, channel consulting, training, public relations, marketing, research, and more. CompTIA members will be eligible to receive significant discounts from top quality providers.

“Our goal is to aggregate an industry-trusted and vetted database of the best of the best in business services,” Thibodeaux said.

In April 2010, CompTIA will re-launch its annual member meeting, bringing together the people who make up the CompTIA Sections, Executive Forums and Advisory Councils. It will be a chance for them to meet and talk about what CompTIA can do to help all its members be more successful.

CompTIA will offer its members even more opportunities for face-to-face, peer-to-peer events beginning this fall with the Managed IT Services Summit presented in partnership with MSP Partners. In addition, three regional events are planned for this fall where attendees will be able to participate in business simulations that provide great insights into improving their business.

To broaden its reach among the global IT industry, CompTIA this summer officially opened offices in New Delhi, India and Beijing, China. This adds to the association’s international presence, which includes offices in London, Brussels, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Poland, and Japan.

Earlier this week, CompTIA introduced Strata, a new entry-level credential that offers individuals a broad introduction to computing technology.

Whew!  CompTIA has been busy!

During a Breakaway keynote address entitled “Channel Execs Predict the Future,” attendees were told that the changing technology landscape would require IT companies to adopt new business models or face extinction.  The Wednesday morning panel focused on opportunities in managed services, security, cloud computing, open source and software-as-a-service.

“There is a different role (for channel companies) to play in a world where we have so many virtual delivery models,” said Stephen Cho, director, Google Apps Channels. “There’s a lot more opportunities available around the distribution of virtual assets delivered over the network.”

Cho was joined on the panel by Roger Egan, vice president of North American Channels, Red Hat, Inc., and Kerry McDonough, director, Small Business Sales/Channels, Cisco Systems, Inc.
“Doing things the old way is not necessarily what customers are looking for,” Egan said. “I see SaaS and cloud computing as an accelerator to the adoption of open source in the small business market.”

All three executives on the keynote panel said there is a significant and major role for channel partners even in this changing environment. 

 

“Even if it’s a cloud based service, the overall network infrastructure is important in how you deliver that service,” said McDonough. “Small businesses look for partners, for value-added resellers to be their IT staff.”

“There is the opportunity now for the channel player to provide more strategic business value to their clients than they did before,” Cho concluded.

During a lunch panel at Breakaway this afternoon, ArlinSorensen, CEO, Heartland Technology Solutions and CEO, HTG Peer Groupsinterviewed small, mid and enterprise level VARs who've been around the blockand back again.  These successfulVARs shared what they did right along the way, what pitfalls they wish they'davoided, and how they're preparing their companies for economic recovery.

 

When Mickey Bland, Vice President Sales, Insight was askedhow the economy was impacting VARs generally, and Insight specifically, hecautiously pointed to some areas that seem to be performing better thanaverage:

“It continues to be very challenging despite news media claimsthat the recession is over.  Istill see customers being extremely cautious and I think we’ll be seeing this cautiousnessfor the foreseeable future.  In thepublic sector, the stimulus money is starting to flow now but in the commercialmarket, I’m seeing a move toward projects that have a short ROI, like convergenceprojects, teleconferencing and telepresence.”  Bland’s advice for surviving the downturn was to stick withthe business models that have proven successful in the past.  “Stay the course,” Bland said. “Keep a closewatch on client values and stay on top of trends.  If you can do that now, and watch your pennies, you shouldbe well positioned for continued growth.”

 

Paul M. Cronin, Senior Vice President, Atrion urged VARs totake a more collaborative and holistic approach to solving clients’ problems. Atrionis a collaborative community where members share best practices and solutions.Cronin described the benefits of being part of such a community.  “When you bring people together and letthem create something they can take back to their own organizations… it buildsa deeper bond.  It spreads like a feverthat grows and grows and flows through organizations in a way that their clientscan feel.” 

Cronin’s takeaway advice was not to go it alone.  “Extend partnerships in your local areaor through strategic peer networks. That breeds opportunity because you can leverage each other’s strengthsand gain access to one another’s client base.”

 

Jeff Anderson, President, Bulletproof InfoTech focused onthe lessons he learned from his recent merger with another firm.  Anderson’s decision to merge was drivenprimarily by his desire to grow the company to a size that required more than asingle executive. “We reached a plateau in the growth of the business because Iwas wearing five different hats.  Ireally couldn’t manage a larger organization.  We saw the merger as a way to expand our executive team andleverage our collective strengths.” Anderson gave a frank answer when asked if it was difficult to hand oversome control of the company. “I’m not sure I am over it.  The challenge for me is trying to becomejust the president.  I’m having tofight the tendency to micromanage even though I’m surrounded by talentedpeople.”  Anderson explained thatthe growing pains associated with the merger taught him some valuable lessonsabout client relations. “Communication was key.  We should have talked to our clients more about what wasgoing on with us.  They neededconstant reassurance and we should have touched them with a call or a letterabout every two weeks.”

Anderson agreed with the other panelists on the importanceof the cloud.  “There is a bigtrend toward moving business infrastructure off premises.  SMBs are slower to adopt that but thatis where things are going.  We areproactively taking that strategy clients and moving all our stuff off premisesto show that we are in a good position to take that to our clients.”

 

Collectively, the panelists urged VARs to communicate,collaborate and stay ahead of trends like cloud computing to provide customerscomplete, high value solutions – advice they are sure to put to good use.

During his keynote presentation at Breakaway, best selling author Patrick Lencioni described what he sees as the primary obstacles to the success of a team:

1) An absence of trust, based largely in an inherent need for invulnerability that promotes a “me first” professional environment.
2) Inattention to results encourages team members to seek out individual recognition and attention at expense of team overall results.
3) A Fear of conflict that prevents team members from expressing their best ideas and true opinions.
4) A lack of commitment stemming largely from team members feeling as though their ideas weren’t seriously considered and resulting in a lack of buy-in that ultimately prevents successful implementation.
5) Avoidance of accountability as team members work to avoid discomfort and unpleasantness rather than striving for excellence.

A list of dysfunctions, or even his best selling book on the subject, can’t really do Lencioni’s presentation justice.  He is a highly energetic and engaging speaker who uses stories, antidotes and even impressions to drive home his points.  

Lencioni is the author of eight best-selling business books including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which remains a fixture on national best-seller lists. Recently recognized in Fortune Magazine as one of the ‘top ten gurus you should know,’ Pat is the founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement.