CompTIA Names New Partner Advisory Council Members

Leadership Group Focused on Business Model Benchmarking and Transformation Guidance for IT Channel Partners

Executives from 20 of the leading companies in the information technology (IT) industry channel have been named to the CompTIA Partner Advisory Council for 2015-16, the IT industry association announced recently.

The Partner Advisory Council provides CompTIA with strategic insight and perspective on issues affecting the IT channel. In 2015, the council is focused on strategies, tactics and tools to help channel partners evaluate their current business models and explore options for transforming their company as market conditions change.

“Business transformation is the primary trend in the IT and telecom partner channels, and one of the main concerns keeping business owners and executives up at night,” said Paul Cronin, co-chair of the CompTIA Partner Advisory Council and senior vice president withAtrion Networking, Warwick, R.I.

CompTIA research has found that nearly eight in 10 U.S. channel firms have experienced some transformative activity – moving from product sales to recurring service revenue; embracing a new cloud portfolio; gaining vertical industry expertise; or expanding customer targets.

“There are many options for how to change your business, but none of these changes are easy,” said Bruce Enright, council co-chair and CEO, Tallgrass Technologies LLC, Lenexa, Kan. “Each option has a unique set of requirements and best practices.”

“Through the efforts of the Partner Advisory Council we’re creating resources to help ease the transformation process for channel partnersso they can achieve their growth and financial goals,” said Annette Taber, vice president, channel strategies, CompTIA.

Already this year the council has developed the CompTIA Business Model Benchmark, an assessment tool to help technology solution providers gain better short- and long-term insights into their financial and operating models. With this information companies can make more informed decisions about their current practices and future plans. CompTIA Premier Members and Registered Users can sign up for the program at www.comptia.org/businessbenchmark.

Other members of the CompTIA Partner Advisory Council for 2015-16 are:

• Joe Ambrosole, president, NetConnect, Staten Island, N.Y.
• Bill Barry, senior vice president, enterprise sales, CompuCom, Dallas
• Mariano DyLiacco, vice president of services, U.S., Insight Enterprises, Inc., Tempe, Ariz.
• Kevin Garrett, vice president of services and operations, Pomeroy IT Solutions, Hebron, Ky.
• Matthew Hahn, vice president, network services, SWK Technologies Inc., Livingston, N.J.
• Floyd Henson, chairman and CEO, Veytec Inc., Orlando, Fla.
• Eric Hughes, managing partner, Komodo Cloud, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.
• Joe Infante, president, Dynamic Strategies, Cranbury, N.J.
• Lester Keizer, CEO, Business Continuity Technologies, Las Vegas (council vice chair)
• John Koval, director, network services, Syncretic Software, Inc., Wilmington, Del.
• John Krikke, vice president, Onward Computer Systems, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
• Stephanie Martin, CEO, Exigo Group, San Clemente, Calif.
• Todd Neves, managing partner, Neves Media Solutions Group, Panama City, Fla.
• John O'Shea, president, Vology, Oldsmar, Fla.
• Mauricio Oyola, CEO, CiberC, Miami
• Rich Schofield, global business development manager, Dimension Data, Framingham, Mass.
• Scott Wilson, co-founder and CEO, Marathon Consulting, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Patrick Zimmer, co-founder and CEO, 18out, Kansas City, Mo.

The Partner Advisory Council is also developing a series of videos to provide guidance on the elements that go into building a “Hybrid VAR” practice. In this business model a channel partner offers a combination of digital services – such as cloud, storage, mobility and information management – along with more traditional technology services.

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a non-profit trade association serving as the voice of the information technology industry. With approximately 2,000 member companies, 3,000 academic and training partners and nearly 2 million IT certifications issued, CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit http://www.comptia.org/.