The Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) – formerly the CompTIA community – announced its new name and exclusive focus, serving IT channel organizations and professionals. The renaming is the result of the sale of the former Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) brand, combined with its training and certification business, which will now operate as a separate, for-profit company under the CompTIA name. The remaining GTIA membership-based trade association will continue to operate under the same mission of service to the IT industry.
The GTIA offers a vendor-neutral, nonprofit membership community for connecting and representing the worldwide IT channel. Internationally, it represents tens of thousands of professionals from more than 2,000 MSPs, solution providers, tech vendors, distributors and other companies, globally, that comprise the channel.
“We are excited to begin a new chapter for our association,” says Tracy Pound, GTIA’s board chair. “Now that we are singularly focused on the IT channel, we can deliver even more benefits for our members and create an environment where everyone is welcome, and we can all work together to help shape the future of our industry.”
The sale of the CompTIA brand and for-profit business activities resulted in the creation of a substantial endowment that will indefinitely cover GTIA’s operating costs. As a result, membership dues will continue to be subsidized to be kept affordable, and member benefits will remain consistent, including impactful global events like ChannelCon. Through the endowment, GTIA will also have more opportunity to expand charitable giving to organizations doing valuable work in technology and bringing more people into the tech industry around the globe.
GTIA will be led by its existing board of directors, which includes top execs and thought leaders from the IT channel, as well as COO, Kelly Ricker and chief community officer (CCO), MJ Shoer. Ricker and Shoer will report to chair, Pound, while the board conducts an ongoing search for a CEO.
“We are excited to announce our new name, the Global Technology Industry Association, as it acknowledges where we have come from and better represents who we are and the members we serve — organizations that deliver the technology solutions that power the global economy. It connects the dots about our mission,” says Shoer. “It showcases the fact that we are a broad, inclusive trade association that understands technology, is focused on the IT channel and drives local impact with global perspective.”
GTIA’s Communities & Councils Forum (CCF) will be held Mar. 10-12 in Chicago. To register, click here.
