CompTIA Biz Tech Podcast

The facts are staggering. Cybercrime is up 600% due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ransomware attacks are estimated to cost $6 trillion annually by 2021 per PurpleSec. Now is not the time to find your business insurance does not cover you in case of an attack. Miles Jobgen, director of the CompTIA Cybersecurity Community, welcomes Michael Goldstein, president of Lan Infotech, and Matt Moossa, regional director of technology and life sciences underwriting at The Hartford, to discuss CompTIA’s newest member benefit and the importance of cyber insurance for every company. This new benefit is available to CompTIA corporate members with access to a customized portal that provides access to resources, tools, and information on how to help mitigate cyber risk and how to respond in the event of a breach. You can also receive a quote from The Hartford in real time with a dedicated phone line. For questions regarding CompTIA membership or your benefits contact membership@comptia.org

Driving organizational change through diversity, equity and inclusion is everyone’s job and is more effective when each of us participates. We get stuck in the belief that only the people with a title or authority can transform company culture. In actuality, we can lead from wherever we’re standing. Join the CompTIA Advancing Tech Talent & Diversity Community as we discuss the risks, fears, and barriers of putting an effective DEI program into place and how to overcome them. Whether you’re a leader or aspiring leader working in the business of technology, this one is for you!

April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month and at CompTIA, volunteers fuel our communities, councils, and technology interest groups. Miles Jobgen is joined by two volunteer leaders, Greg Plum and Susanne Tedrick, as they discuss the benefits of being a volunteer both professionally and personally.

April is National Internship Awareness Month. Amy Kardel and Charles Eaton join Gary Bixler to discuss the benefits and importance of interns and apprentices in the workforce. Learn about the exciting programs CompTIA is leading with apprentices and how every business can benefit. Visit: https://www.apprenticeship.gov/ and https://www.comptia.org/home

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are not just for the big enterprise organizations. Small and mid-sized organizations can achieve the same benefits of improved innovation, better problem solving and engaged employees for greater business outcomes. CompTIA’s Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity community met with members of the vCom diversity council to get an inside look at their diversity efforts and explore the “why” behind the decisions, best practices, and lessons learned.

In this special edition of CompTIA’s Biz Tech podcast, Nancy Hammervik, CEO of CompTIA’s Career Tech Academy and Executive Vice President of Industry Relations is joined by Peter Arthur Smith. Peter is the Founder and Principal Director at Leadership Solutions, Inc. (https://ileadershipsolutions.com/). During this engaging conversation, Peter and Nancy discuss the five phases of enlightened leadership and the key differences between employees, contributors, and non-contributors. If you would like to become more acquainted with the Five-Phases of Enlightened Leadership, prior to the book release, then listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the Leadership Solutions blog that continuously leads viewers through the five-phases with examples of the moment.

CompTIA SVP Annette Taber and her son Garrett talk blockchain, Bitcoin, and why every tech company should pay attention to cryptocurrency and the technology behind it. This is the first in a podcast series featuring CompTIA leaders and their children discussing their generational views of emerging technologies. Join CompTIA's Blockchain Technology Interest Group: https://connect.comptia.org/connect/technology-interest-groups/blockchain-technology-interest-group Learn more about CompTIA's Blockchain Advisory Council: https://connect.comptia.org/connect/advisory-councils/blockchain-advisory-council

Amanda Stewart is an accomplished managed service provider (MSP) who has not only succeeded in a traditionally male environment but thrived and grown her business beyond expectations. Amanda meets with Estelle Johannes, director of the UK Business Technology Community at CompTIA, to discuss the challenges, struggles, and opportunities of being a female business owner in the tech industry. This is the first in a series of discussions with Amanda as the CompTIA UK Business Technology Community and Advancing Women in Technology Interest Group follow her for the next year and share her experiences as a woman-led and owned business.

Remember when people would ask, “What is the cloud?” It seems like a lifetime ago. As remote work has become increasingly common, having a cloud strategy is no longer a choice. Adam Proulx, senior manager of member communities at CompTIA, and Sean Barrett, director of sales operations and marketing at Nuvolex, discuss how organizations are migrating to the cloud, the pros and cons of different cloud models, how businesses are utilizing automation, and how to realize your full business value as a solution provider.

Estelle Johannes, director of the UK Business Technology Community at CompTIA, chats with Nigel Moore, the self-described tribal leader at Tech Tribe. Nigel owned his a managed service provider (MSP) for 15 years and is now on a journey to help MSPs avoid the mistakes he made. Listen in to hear more about the lessons he learned, what makes a great MSP community, and what trends MSPs should be thinking about for the future.

The recent successful cyber espionage of Federal departments and other sensitive networks has exposed a threat that has long been feared.While the full ramifications have yet to play out, what we know now is enough to demand industry response on how to address the threat of supply chain attacks and how the world of international politics will continue to impact the tech industry. In this episode, CompTIA’s IT Security Community hosts a panel of experts from across the industry to tackle big questions of trust, responsibility, vigilance, and fostering an industry culture of information sharing.

The exact shape of the hype cycle for cloud computing over the past ten years is not clear, but it seems like it has had more ups and downs than the average trend. In this episode, Alan Rihm, CEO and founder of CoreDial, and Adam Proulx, senior manager of member communities at CompTIA, discuss how businesses are not just exploring new cloud options, but are investing more in the hard work of restructuring workflow, which leads into integration and automation. H3PGl26Wk4nalh4nOGHA

As an entrepreneur, it is not uncommon to hit roadblocks and struggle with selling your idea, solution or product. In this episode, Robert Kinch and Frank Dion, founders of Get More Sales Corporation, discuss their practical process to sell value with Adam Proulx, senior manager of member communities at CompTIA. This systematic approach to sales is driven by over 60 years of combined experience and is specifically tailored to entrepreneurs. You will learn that sales is a process, not a product or a person, and you can always pitch your products and survive, but if you really want to thrive as a business, you must sell value.

Estelle Johannes, director of the Benelux Business Technology Community at CompTIA, and Scott Tyson, member of the Benelux Community’s Executive Council and tech industry leader, discuss how to view the changes and disruptions of 2020 in a more positive way. Scott provides his view on how business recruitment has been affected and how to maintain and build company culture when everyone is remote.

Blockchain is a powerful, innovative database technology for transparent, permanent data keeping and useful for a multitude of scenarios. But it’s not the best fit for every environment. In this episode, Debbie Kestin Schildkraut, global program director, blockchain marketing, IBM, and Adam Proulx, senior manager of member communities at CompTIA, explore the uses of blockchain, bust common myths of the technology, and discuss ways to engage and accelerate your business with blockchain.

Estelle Johannes, director of the UK Business Technology Community at CompTIA, has a chat with Georgina Bradshaw, owner and principal consultant at Blue Ram Solutions. Georgina provides insight into how the employment relationship changed in 2020 and shares her top HR tips for success as we emerge from the pandemic. The role of a "people manager" has evolved in 2020, and in this episode, you'll learn some key do’s and don’ts about making decisions that impact your workforce.

As we navigate this “new world,” and find ourselves consistently increasing our digital engagements, we need some innovative solutions. In this episode, Tom Martin, CEO of Glance Networks, and Adam Proulx, senior manager of member communities at CompTIA, discuss how Glance has successfully transitioned from a small business screen share tool to a provider of omnichannel visual engagement solutions for some of the largest enterprises in the world. Adam and Tom also explore co-browsing, screen sharing, and the importance of digital engagements having the same human element as a face-to-face, in-person interaction.

Technology is embedded in just about everything we do – from starting our cars to mobile orders at our favorite coffee shop to connecting with colleagues and clients. As an aspiring or current technology professional, you can choose from a wide range of opportunities. In the United States alone, there are about 750,000 tech jobs that go unfilled each year …. mostly due to a lack of qualified candidates. With the right skills and a learning mindset, one can having a thriving career. The question is “What does it take to achieve success in this always changing industry?” The Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Community asked that very question of top technologists as well as talent managers to guide us through the twists and turns of navigating a thriving tech career.

You don’t need to be a technical expert to understand how artificial intelligence (AI) is going to transform lead generation and conversion for marketers. In this episode, Maddy Martin, head of growth and education at Smith.ai, and Adam Proulx, senior manager of member communities at CompTIA, discuss the role of live staff in lead capture with assistance from AI and automation.

Technology is embedded in just about everything we do—from starting our cars to mobile orders at our favorite coffee shop to connecting with colleagues and clients. As an aspiring or current technology professional, you can choose from a wide range of opportunities. In the United States alone, there are about 750,000 tech jobs that go unfilled each year, mostly due to a lack of qualified candidates. With the right skills and a learning mindset, one can have a thriving career. In part 1 of this two-part conversation, we discuss what it takes to achieve success in the always-changing tech industry.