CompTIA Forms New Telecom Advisory Council

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Feb 11, 2013, 08:50 ET

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Feb. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CompTIA, the non-profit association for the information technology (IT) industry, today announced the formation of a new industry group centered on the growing convergence of telecom and IT.

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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, DataTel Solutions, Inc., 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 have the potential to be profitable. A 2012 study by Channel Partners and CompTIA found that these partnerships are generating significant business, with some companies earning up to three-quarters of annual revenue from these strategic and tactical collaborations.

But there also are potential pitfalls: poor communications, a lack of rules on engagement, 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, enterprise development, AOTMP and co-chair of the CompTIA council.

Mike Saxby, president, 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, Inc.
Shawn Cordner, chief executive officer, In2itive Marketing
Larry Foster, president and general manager, PINNACLE
Hilary Gadda, director, telepartner channels, Telepacific Communications
Ian Kleninger, chief executive officer, Avant Communications
Jack Knocke, owner, The VAR Advisor
Michael Paynter, chief executive officer, Tier3 Technologies
Greg Plum, vice president, channel development, Start Meeting
Bill Potter, chief executive officer, Message Broadcast
Peter Radizeski, telecom consultant, Rad-Info, Inc.
Meggin Sawyer, vice president, enterprise division sales, ADTRAN
Bryan Schroder, principal, Cynergy Services
Richard Williams, executive director, channels, Verizon

The council will meet at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting March 12-13 in Chicago.

About CompTIA

CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit www.comptia.org, http://www.facebook.com/CompTIA and http://twitter.com/comptia.

SOURCE CompTIA