May 2012, Issue 22 Connect with us:

GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY   TECH ENTREPRENEURS   TECH WORKFORCE   BREAKAWAY 2012

Grassroots Advocacy How Getting Involved in Public Advocacy Makes Business Sense After finding it an obstacle to her efforts to grow her busines, Wendy Frank, founder of Accell Security, Inc. and Accell Technology, Inc., became active in advocating for a change in the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal contracting program. By partnering with CompTIA’s public advocacy team, Frank is making her voice heard in the corridors of Congress. Read more.   IT Entrepreneur MJ Shoer Seeks to Lessen Burden on Small Businesses As a small business owner with eight employees, MJ Shoer, president and virtual chief technology officer of Jenaly Technology Group Inc., sees first-hand the costs and staff time associated with tax compliance. Like many other small business owners, Shoer views the regulations and requirements surrounding payroll tax as a significant burden – as well as an onerous cost center.  Payroll tax simplification is just one issue that spurred Shoer to get engaged with Members of Congress and become an advocate for the small business community. Read more.   Education Needed to Help Small IT Firms Access New Sources for Capital "The cybersecurity landscape is changing more dynamically than ever," said Jacob K. Braun, president and COO, Waka Digital Media Corp. For small business firms like Waka Digital, access to new capital and financing is critical to their ability to grow and keep pace with customer demand for their services. The recently-enacted Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act opens up a new channel of vital equity capital through crowdfunding. But according to a CompTIA survey, just one in five firms is aware of this new potential source of financing. How can you access capital?   Promoting Adoption of the Cloud Dan Shapero, techinal marketing executive of ClikCloud and CompTIA board member knows quite a bit about cloud computing. He co-founded ClikCloud in 2011 to offer cloud-based marketing support to small business and is now working with CompTIA to advocate for fair and simple cloud computing policies and regulations. Read more.   National CompTIA Initiative Supports STEM Education CompTIA, through its TechVoice partnerships with the New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC), the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA), and the Illinois Technology Association (ITA), made three separate $5,000 grants to support education in STEM fields in these states. The grants are part of a series of donations CompTIA is making on behalf of its TechVoice partners to support community-based efforts to promote IT and IT workforce development, education and training.   Tech Entrepreneurs Presidential Race Update: Connection to the Tech Community Now less than six months away from Election Day, campaign season is in full swing. TV and radio advertising has already begun and candidates are traveling the country raising campaign funds and speaking to large crowds of supporters. As the field narrows, candidates generally better define their policy positions in order to highlight contrasts with the President. While we will likely begin to see more differences as the campaign progresses, President Obama and Mitt Romney ironically share positions on several key issues important to the tech community. Read more.   Amazon Tax: 2011 Illinois Law Unconstitutional Last year, we reported on legislation enacted in Illinois that would shut down many small Internet businesses. Dubbed the Amazon Tax, the new law would require any non-Illinois seller to collect Illinois sales tax if that seller acquires customers through a link on the Internet website of the Illinois business. This collection requirement would apply even though the out-of-state business has no other presence in the state. But finally, reason has prevailed. Read more.   Tech Workforce CompTIA CEO Articulates Support for Career Technical Education CompTIA President and CEO, Todd Thibodeaux, is featured in The Friends of CTE Guest Blog Series this month. The series provides advocates — from business and industry, to researchers and organizations — an opportunity to articulate their support for Career Technical Education. The monthly series features a guest bloggers who provides their perspective on and experience with CTE as it relates to policy, the economy and education. Thibodeaux defends today’s education system while challenging traditional boundaries. Read more.   Tackling the IT Skills Gap The dynamic, fast-changing nature of technology combined with a lack of training resources are contributing to a skills gap in the IT industry. As featured in the Huffington Post, CompTIA has partnered with The Aspen Institute’s Skills for America’s Future (SAF) to address the skills gap by fostering relationships between community colleges and businesses and bringing together leaders from the business, community college, and workforce development worlds. Read more.   Matching Veteran Job Needs to the IT Industry Veteran unemployment statistics are staggering—850,000 veterans (including 250,000 from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars) can’t find work now, and 1 million more veterans are expected to seek to join the civilian work force over the next five years. CompTIA believes that a segment of these unemployed vets can help fill the estimated 300,000 IT jobs that remain open in the United States, especially now that funding from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Workforce Investment Act, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess program can be used for veterans to pursue IT training and certification. Read more.   Breakaway 2012 Public Policy Committee to Meet at Breakaway As the premier education event for the IT channel being held July 30-August 2 at the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Breakaway 2012 is gearing up to be the IT destination hot spot where the industry will navigate the channel through education and training, peer-to-peer connections and networking to form new partnerships. The Public Policy Committee will meet at Breakaway on Thursday, August 2, from 8:00 – 9:00 am. Register.   IN THE NEWS The Washington Post: Military Leaders Seek Higher Profile for Pentagon’s Cyber Command Unit   New York Times: U.S. Study Cites Worries on Readiness for Cyberattacks   NPR: Bill Would Have Businesses Foot Cost of Cyberwar   Public Policy Contacts Workforce Education Elizabeth Hyman Vice President, Public Advocacy   Tech Entrepreneurs Lamar Whitman Director, Public Advocacy   IT Security David Valdez Senior Director, Public Advocacy   PAC and Grassroots Advocacy Matthew L. Evans Manager, Public Advocacy   CompTIA Worldwide Headquarters I CompTIA, Inc. 3500 Lacey Road, Suite 100 Downers Grove, IL 60515-5439, U.S.A. © 2012 CompTIA Properties, LLC, under license to CompTIA, Inc. All Rights Reserved. To read previous issues of Policy Watch, click here.