CompTIA has formed an industry group centered on the growing convergence of telecom and IT, with an eye to bringing the two often disparate channel partner communities together.
The CompTIA Telecom Advisory Council will provide strategic insight and vendor-neutral guidance on the evolving and expanding relationships between agents who resell telecom services and IT firms that focus on data needs.
“These two channels, once separate and distinct, have come closer together out of business necessity and customer demand,” said Jeff Ponts, executive vice president at DataTel Solutions and co-chair of the CompTIA Telecom Advisory Council. “The convergence of voice and data, the emergence of cloud computing and the explosion of mobile technology are some of the factors bringing these two groups together.”
Telecom agent-solution provider partnerships can significant business, with some companies earning up to three-quarters of annual revenue from these strategic and tactical collaborations, CompTIA noted. However, there also are potential pitfalls: poor communications, a lack of rules on engagement and a failure to understand each other’s business model.
“We intend to identify the factors that lead to success and to guide the development of education and training regimens, research, credentials and other resources for the industry so that business partners can succeed and their customers can benefit,” said Scott Levy, vice president of enterprise development at AOTMP and co-chair of the CompTIA council.
The council will meet at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting March 12-13 in Chicago. Mike Saxby, president at Communications Management Services, will serve as vice chair of the group.
Other members of the CompTIA Telecom Advisory Council include: Laura Bernstein, president, CRA Telecom; Shawn Cordner, CEO, In2itive Marketing; Larry Foster, president and general manager, PINNACLE; Hilary Gadda, director of telepartner channels, Telepacific Communications; Ian Kleninger, CEO, Avant Communications; Jack Knocke, owner, The VAR Advisor; Michael Paynter, CEO, Tier3 Technologies; Greg Plum, vice president of channel development, Start Meeting; Bill Potter, CEO, Message Broadcast; Peter Radizeski, telecom consultant, Rad-Info; Meggin Sawyer, vice president of enterprise division sales, ADTRAN; Bryan Schroder, principal, Cynergy Services; and Richard Williams, executive director of channels, Verizon.
Also in the spirit of community, CompTIA is looking to bring thought leadership to enterprise mobility with a recently announced forum designed to address challenges and opportunities associated with mobile technology. The CompTIA Mobility Community brings together representatives from throughout the IT ecosystem for mobile technology and mobile apps, including vendors, channel partners and solution providers.
