TCA, CompTIA Team Up As Telecom, IT Converge

The Technology Channel Association (TCA) and CompTIA are teaming up as the telecom and IT sectors converge.

The organizations plan to take part in each other’s events over the coming year, host joint training courses and webinars, and write articles for each other’s newsletters.

"Our goal is to be the trade association that shows our members where the puck is going, not where it has been, as Wayne Gretzky once said," said Jeff Ponts, president of TCA and executive vice president of Datatel Solutions.

Annette Taber, vice president of channel strategies for CompTIA, said cloud computing, managed services, mobility, unified communications and other technologies are bringing together IT and telecom.

"That’s why CompTIA is a strong proponent of the ‘big tent’ philosophy, where everyone who’s interested in advancing industry growth through better business practices and innovative solutions is welcomed," she said. "We’re pleased to partner with TCA in this effort."

The five-year-old TCA developed the Certified Telecommunications Professional program, the first industry trade association-sponsored certification program for indirect sales agents. For its part, CompTIA is seeing greater traction among telecom-services partners; for example, it recently created the Telecom Advisory Council; members 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.