CompTIA Debuts Business Model Benchmark for Partners

By Edward Gately

CompTIA, the IT industry association, is developing a new assessment tool to help technology services providers gain better short-and long-term insight into their financial and operating models.

It’s previewing its new Business Model Benchmark this week during its Annual Member Meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Attendees have the opportunity to become beta users of the tool.

Also this week, CompTIA is unveiling details of its new Executive Certificate in Financial Management Workshop, a five-part Webinar designed to build financial expertise among channel partners so they can run their businesses more profitably.

The CompTIA Partner Advisory Council spearheaded the benchmark initiative, which includes executives from many of the largest and most successful companies in the IT channel. The intent is to help providers expand their financial insight, especially those who are considering a change in their business model.

“With these insights, IT firms can put their business in proper perspective, identify areas for improvement and make more informed decisions regarding business transformation,” said Bruce Enright, council member and CEO of Tallgrass Technologies, an IT consulting company based in the Kansas City area.

Participants will provide critical data about their business operations in a spreadsheet and results will be reported only as an aggregate of all submissions. CompTIA has contracted a third party to handle data collection and processing.

Companies then will gain access to benchmark information from the IT channel, including average revenue, average profit, mix of product versus service revenue, and more.

Coming up next month, CompTIA’s Executive Certificate in Financial Management Workshop will include the following sessions, all EDT:

“Many solution-provider companies thrive when it comes to the technology side of the business, but can be challenged by the financial aspects of the company, said Kelly Ricker, CompTIA’s senior vice president of events and education. “They’ll learn how to mine common business reports for business intelligence, implement best practices to maximize profitability and develop strategies for healthy, sustainable growth.”