There are a million reasons why I love our members in the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA)—but the biggest one might be how passionate they are about the success and growth of our association.
That was never more evident than in the first three GTIA Town Halls we held recently for our members, former members, non-members—anyone in the IT industry, really—to learn more about GTIA and ask questions. We held the Town Halls because we wanted to hear from you. It was a great opportunity for anyone to ask any question and offer suggestions as we develop and launch future plans for GTIA.
We were thrilled to have nearly 400 people registered for the Town Halls, which were held in local time zones for the North America, UK & European and ASEAN & ANZ regions. The sessions were moderated by GTIA’s editor-at-large Scott Campbell and questions were directed to myself and Kelly Ricker, our chief operating officer, the two executives currently running GTIA with the support of our Board of Directors.
Some common themes appeared across all three calls—as well as some region-specific questions. Here are a few of the most-asked questions, with answers.
- Why were GTIA and CompTIA separated?
- Simply put, the association, formerly known as the Computing Technology Industry Association, or CompTIA, decided to sell the CompTIA brand along with the certification and training business. The result of this sale created an endowment that stays with the association and funds our operations and charitable giving endeavors. Because we sold the CompTIA brand, we had to rename and rebrand the association, thus creating the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA). It’s the same association, just with a new name and now a singular focus on our members.
- What are the differences between GTIA and CompTIA? Are the organizations still affiliated in any way?
No, GTIA and CompTIA are not affiliated or connected in any way. GTIA is a 501(c)(6) vendor-neutral, non-profit trade association representing the global membership of organizations in the IT channel. CompTIA is now a for-profit entity serving the certification and training needs of IT professionals worldwide.
- What are GTIA’s charitable giving plans?
GTIA aims to give tens of millions of U.S. dollars annually, focusing on organizations leveraging technology for social good. A charitable committee comprised of board members and members-at-large is being formed to oversee this activity with the support of professional organizations that support this type of charitable activity.
- Will ChannelCon 2025 in Nashville still happen? What about Partner Summit in the United States and UK?
We plan to lean into our ChannelCon brand, which is well-known as the IT channel’s premier vendor-neutral annual conference. ChannelCon 2025 will take place in Nashville, July 29-31. We are thrilled to announce that the former EMEA Member Conference in London is being renamed ChannelCon EMEA and will take place on 13-14 October in London.
A CompTIA Partner Summit event schedule is still being finalized for 2025. We recommend visiting CompTIA.org for the latest information on these certification- and training-focused events. GTIA is no longer affiliated with CompTIA and is unable to provide updates on CompTIA events.
GTIA will also continue to host our in-person community meetings, and other events throughout the year. Please visit gtia.org/events for the latest schedule updates.
- Will GTIA members lose the member benefit of discounts on CompTIA certifications?
No. GTIA members purchase a significant enough volume of CompTIA certifications and training content annually to continue to qualify for a discount. GTIA is now treated as if all our members are collectively one large customer, so we are still able to offer this discount. Please reach out to your membership representative for details on how to receive the discount.
- What is the status of the search for a new CEO?
The CEO Search Committee of the Board of Directors continues to interview potential candidates. As of this writing, the committee has interviewed several qualified candidates and has advanced a few to the second round. The committee continues to work with our executive search consultant to identify additional candidates with the goal of selecting a new CEO in the coming months.
Other questions touched on things such as member benefits, member education programs, the GTIA Mentorship Program, the makeup of our board of directors, our role in government policy, geographic expansion and the impact of our endowment on members.
There is not enough space in this article to provide detailed answers to all these questions, so where possible, I will point you to the relevant resources on our website at gtia.org.
- - For more details on the extensive portfolio of GTIA member benefits, please visit gtia.org/membership.
- - If you would like to learn more about our large and growing catalog of member education course offerings, please visit gtia.org/member-education.
- - To learn more and become involved in the GTIA Mentorship Program, please visit gtia.org/ membership/member-groups/mentorship-program.
- - The GTIA Board of Directors has historically been made up of leaders from the IT channel and workforce development sectors. Now that we are solely focused on our IT channel members, we expect the board to become more representative of our membership, including MSPs and solution providers, along with more international representation supporting our global mission.
- - GTIA continues to develop our member communities in our existing six regions: North America (U.S. and Canada), the UK & Ireland, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and ANZ (Australia and New Zealand). We will continue to look to expand into regions where our members are, once our existing regions have fully matured. We do not expect to launch a new region in 2025 while we focus on the transition to GTIA.
- - With the creation of a substantial endowment from the proceeds of the sale of the CompTIA brand along with the certification and training businesses, GTIA will continue to subsidize our membership dues, as we always have. Our operations and charitable giving budgets will be funded from the earnings of the endowment, ensuring the ongoing financial viability of the Association. This truly is a gift to the industry.
I want to thank everyone who attended our first Town Halls and offered your input and asked questions. We appreciate you very much and welcome an ongoing dialog with anyone who wishes to engage with us and chart an even more impactful future for our membership. To facilitate this, we have a suggestion box to submit your ideas for helping us on this journey. You will receive a personal response to your submission.
If you have questions about your membership or need any assistance related to your membership, please send an email to [email protected] and a member of our membership team will personally respond to you.
Together, #WeAreGTIA!
