Some of the Points Todd and Craig Discussed

·         The IT industry isn’t immune to the problems that are occurring in the current economy. We’ve seen our share of layoff announcements. But the reality is the IT industry in Illinois and elsewhere has been affected to a lesser degree than other industries, such as finance, housing and auto manufacturing.

·         Every industry has a need for IT workers, not just traditional technology companies. Technology is deeply embedded in virtually every business and industry. The people who run these applications, networks and systems are critical to business operations. As people postpone investments of all sorts they will also try to stretch the limits of the useful lives of their IT equipment. That requires the expertise of IT professionals who can identify ways to use technology to make the business operate more efficiently or less expensively. Businesses simply can’t afford to lose their tech talent. That’s a big reason why the IT job market is much less volatile than it was in the past. Tech workers with the right skills are more likely to weather the current storm better than many other professions.

  ·         As for areas of technology where we expected to see growth in the coming years, “Green IT” is coming into focus. The term is tossed around very casually these days but for the movement to get real teeth it needs to be better defined as to what it means. The technology industry in general has a large role to play in sustainability and alternative energy development. Most of initiatives and systems being contemplated will need an entirely new class of smart IT infrastructure to work. That’s especially true for the green building movement.

  ·         As more and more companies look to outsource IT functions to managed services providers (MSPs), cloud computing is potentially the next evolution in those offerings. So beyond doing remote help desk, networking monitoring and firewall management if cloud computing becomes a bigger reality we’ll see an even bigger move to hosted applications and virtualization.

  ·         With the HDTV transition going fully live, the old analog spectrum can be put to use to power entirely new classes of wireless data and video applications. Like with Green IT we’ll see entirely new services come on the market: point-of-presence advertising, wireless broadband, in-car data and entertainment. It will provide great opportunities to IT companies and carriers to team up and deliver some great things.

  ·         The credit crunch is the biggest challenge companies of all sizes are facing. Companies can get lean and keep expenses in check; but to grow, they eventually need to tap into the credit markets in some form. IT companies are no exception. The biggest question going forward is: When will the credit markets loosen up? That will have a lot to do with how soon a turnaround begins. A lack of credit and a lack of confidence are plaguing the market. Until we start to see a turnaround in the mindset and people can see beyond the bad news of the day we’ll continue to be challenged.

About Todd

Todd Thibodeaux is the president and chief executive officer of the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), the leading trade association representing the business interests of the global information technology (IT) industry. He is responsible for leading strategy, development and growth efforts for the association.

Before joining CompTIA in July 2008, Mr. Thibodeaux spent more than 17 years with the Consumer Electronics Association, where he served in a wide range of roles culminating as its senior vice president of industry relations.

During Mr. Thibodeaux’s tenure with CEA, the organization grew from having just a small handful of member companies to become a thriving, diverse and widely-respected trade group with over 2,200 member companies and 150 employees. CEA is perhaps best known for producing the world's largest technology trade event, the International Consumer Electronics Show.

As senior vice president Mr. Thibodeaux was intimately involved in the day-to-day operations and growth of the organization. He played key leadership roles in short- and long-term strategic planning, partnership and investment opportunity development, standards and technology innovation, market analysis, member relations and was a prominent spokesperson for the industry in many different capacities.

Prior to joining the CEA, Mr. Thibodeaux was with the Office of Regulatory Analysis, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (Bachelor of Science, economics, 1988) and George Mason University (Master’s degree in economics, 1997).

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy.