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CompTIA - Supporting Workers and Businesses in the Tech Sector

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) supports the $5 trillion technology ecosystem. The organization is a credentialing program that provides certification opportunities for tech workers. In addition to supporting IT specialists, CompTIA has also developed a curriculum focused on tech employment opportunities and devised a guide for helping businesses succeed in the technology sector.

In a July 2024 press release, CompTIA announced its collaboration with the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC) to educate and train Canadian students in cybersecurity. The NACC represents 550 regulated member institutions in assisting students with access to employment opportunities throughout Canada. The partnership between both nonprofit organizations will culminate in a curriculum based on the skills CompTIA requires for certification of tech professionals.

This collaboration comes at a time when tech jobs in Canada have grown immensely. From 2017 to 2022, the Canadian technology sector grew by 300,000 new jobs (there are now 1.4 million workers in this field). Cybersecurity specialist positions were the fastest growing, seeing a 146 percent increase during this five-year period. One reason for such growth is that it pays to work in technology, with these workers making 48 percent more than workers in other industries.

This partnership is of the utmost importance, given the current staffing needs in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and tech support. The technology industry is in dire need of these roles to support long-term projects related to artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, among others. Joe Padin, senior vice president of government and partnerships for CompTIA, expressed the organization's excitement about this collaboration with NACC, which will enable them to train and certify technology workers across the country. Michael Sangster, NACC's chief executive officer, echoed this sentiment, stating that the partnership underscores the organization's commitment to building a resilient workforce ready to meet the demands of the digital industry.

CompTIA also prepared two guides for businesses growing in technological fields, in addition to preparing Canadian students for cybersecurity work. The publications are "Tech Vendor Guidebook: Best Practices for Successful Channel Programs" and "The CompTIA Community MSP Guidebook: Cultivating a Culture of Process Efficiency." Tech Vendor Guidebook focuses on considerations businesses should make before entering or revisiting an IT channel, how to launch an IT channel after making these considerations, and the model's benefits.

The other book on MSPs (managed service providers) explains to businesses how to boost efficiency before integrating best practices by focusing on areas of improvement. Technology professionals from the CompTIA Community North America Managed Services Interest Group created the MSP guidebook, which covers effective business processes, human resource investing, vendor partner management, and service portfolio investment.

These guides are a testament to the work that CompTIA does. As MJ Shoer, CompTIA chief community officer, points out, these books provide businesses with invaluable information that can help them build their companies and contribute to the growth of the field. They are not just guides for managers, but tools that can facilitate transformative change within a business. The books not only offer advice on building a business, but also provide strategies for addressing areas of weakness to increase efficiency and improve productivity. The MSP guide is available at connect.comptia.org/msp-guidebook and the Tech Vendor guide can be found at connect.comptia.org/tech-vendor-guidebook.

These activities exemplify CompTIA's work for professionals in technological fields. The mission-driven organization empowers people aspiring to careers in technology by helping them unlock their potential, whether by creating resources or providing access to certification. More importantly, many in technology fields rely on CompTIA's expertise to advance or begin their careers. For more information on what CompTIA offers, please visit www.comptia.org/about-us.

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Essentials of Setting up a Business Computer Network

Setting up a computer network for small-to-mid-sized businesses requires extensive planning. Business computer networks link two or more computers so that they can communicate with each other and share information.

Computer networks must remain robust and secure since they support wide-ranging equipment, devices, software, and applications that drive functions ranging from budgeting and inventory management to sales and marketing. The network spans laptops, phones, and printers and connects to internal or external servers that provide needed bandwidth for hosting and distributing data in real time.

Organizations can pick from two basic types of business networks: the local area network (LAN) and the vast area network (WAN). LAN networks use wifi or network cables. It connects devices within a limited geographic footprint, such as a building or office space, and relies on on-site servers. By contrast, WAN setups host network resources off-site and accessed on-demand via a cloud platform and provider that offers secure external hosting.

WAN and LAN networks connect devices using a router that links two or more via the Internet and applies to traditional wired and wireless setups. Professionals recommend using business-grade wifi routers since they contain features such as anti-virus software and firewall systems that filter out SPAM. They often allow for the installation of VPN servers that offer encryption capacities as data travels securely across a network. Encryption minimizes vulnerabilities to outside threats, such as hackers and malware. A quality router continues functioning seamlessly through events such as power outages. Organizations can configure them to optimize bandwidth through controlling and prioritizing usage.

Then, network switches support data flow across networks of computers and peripherals. They determine how a network allocates the bandwidth provided through an internet connection. Switches are programmable via web interface, CLI (command line interface), or SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol).

Unmanaged switches apply to plug-and-play devices that communicate freely with each other in shared spaces that host personnel and visitors, such as conference rooms, and for shared equipment, such as fax and printing stations. Managed switches provide businesses with ways to control and limit access to data, defining how data flows across a network. They allow the setting of port bandwidths and the creation or modification of local area networks.

Physical cables apply to ports in management protocols. Service providers feature cloud-managed switches for wireless networking that enable remote network access control through a software interface. The wireless local area network (WLAN) defines wifi coverage. It has an access point, which serves as the gateway for users and devices that connect wirelessly to the network.

Business-grade access points have handling capacity designed to accommodate greater traffic flow. Alternatively, coverage range expands through range extenders - though these may slow network speeds and have a limited number of connectable devices.

Many small businesses utilize an underlying wired network to ensure stable connectivity that underpins their high-speed wireless network. The approach accommodates wired connections with stationary devices such as cameras and printers, which fees up wireless bandwidth for wireless-dependent devices such as phones and laptops. Therefore, organizations can use both instead of picking between cable and wireless network environments.

Lastly, pick the right cables. Cables provide sufficient bandwidth to access points and deliver a fast wireless network. Know current cable standards, as with CAT6 for LAN wiring, when picking cables. In addition, ensure that two cables running to each wireless access point have enough capacity. It will accommodate evolving industry standards and allow for extra wired bandwidth as the business grows.