Comptia, the Computing Technology Industry Association, made it a point this year to reach out to businesses to increase its organizational memberships.
This time last year, the non-profit trade association for IT professionals and companies, which include distributors, resellers, manufacturers and educational institutions, had about 1,800 company memberships. Today, the association has over 2,100 members, Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of Comptia said.
“We’ve been focused on reaching out to all of the organizations that make up all facets of the IT channels this year to forge new relationships,” Thibodeaux said.
Comptia also introduced its Authorized Partner Program this year, which offers partners access to industry research, information on IT industry trends, information on products and services, in addition to vendor-neutral certifications.
“This gives partners the ability to profit even more and play a bigger role in our business, which makes them bigger stakeholders in our success, and ours in theirs,” Thibodeaux said.
In light of the economy, the association also reduced the costs of its membership dues this year. Next year, Thibodeaux says he’d like to see more “substantial growth” in the association’s membership base.
“Our goal over the next year is to have 5,000 corporate members be actively engaged in our training, communities and events,” he added.