This year, be thankful for silver linings

2020 was a memorable year, with unprecedented business disruptions and a pandemic. Here are 10 things that CompTIA members are thankful for, as well as silver linings that have helped them get through the past 11 month. Are you ready to go for 2021? I don’t think I have ever been more ready for 2021 than I am now. 2020 was a memorable year, with unprecedented business disruptions and a pandemic.
But it’s not over yet. It’s Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday and a great opportunity for everyone to reflect on the blessings of the past year. Try harder if you think there isn’t much to be thankful for in this year. When I look back at the achievements of CompTIA in this difficult time, I am thankful for all our members, employees, and partners who worked so hard to bring so much to this highly competitive tech industry. Here are 10 silver linings the CompTIA membership team is grateful for that has helped us get through these past 11 months.
You could work from home. It was nice to be able to work from home after spending nearly as much time in hotels and airplanes as I did in the office in 2019. While I miss my CompTIA colleagues and my team, it was nice to be able to spend some time at home catching up with myself. We all proved that we can all work remotely and be just as productive, collectively. For those of us who have children, we gained a deeper appreciation for teachers!
We Can Learn Online. CompTIA has shifted its training and testing online after the pandemic shut down many testing facilities. This allowed thousands of people to join our industry, many of whom were transitioning from other careers to the tech workforce. We have a proven way to help the industry by leveraging online training and testing.
Cybersecurity was given more attention. Cybersecurity was a key focus for us. The pandemic revealed that our defenses against cyber threats were woefully inadequate. We had to accept that fact and act quickly to address it. We were grateful for the support of industry partners and members who helped us improve our cyber resilience.
We stood up against social and racial injustice. We were all shocked by the many instances of racial injustice. Many companies and organizations quickly took decisive action and put diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), programs in place. They also increased existing initiatives. I am proud to say that many companies are taking advantage of the excellent work CompTIA’s Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Community have done using the resources, guides and tools that they have created for the industry.
We Reconnected at home–and went green. We are an industry that is constantly on the move, and we travel non-stop. We were able to spend more time with our family and friends by storing our suitcases. We also learned that Zoom calls or online events can be very effective. We also reduced the industry’s carbon footprint.
We grew our audience. Although nothing can replace the experience of face-to-face meetings and networking, virtual events have allowed us to reach a wider audience and engage with a larger audience. We made it possible to host our Communities & Councils Forum and ChannelCon Member & Partner Conferences online. This allowed us to introduce both CompTIA resources as well as our amazing network of members, to a wide range of new contacts and businesses. Even around the globe!
We found new ways to engage. We were all working remotely so we looked for new ways to engage our members. CompTIA World, our YouTube channel for members, was launched and our first episode with Dr. Georgette FraserMoore and MJ Schoer. These shows have been viewed thousands of times and allowed us to discuss cybersecurity and business transformation–and share the spotlight alongside some of our most engaged members!
We are starting more conversations. This year, it was crucial to improve communication tools and resources. We needed better ways to exchange best practices, ask questions, and get the help that we needed. CompTIA created three Technology Interest Groups to help women in tech, AI, and drones. We also have forums for Government & Public Sector, COVID-19, and more than 11,000 forum users. All of them have sparked many interesting, informative discussions, shared ideas, and most importantly, supported one another.
We proved it was technology’s time to shine. The tech industry was getting a bad reputation in the market due to issues such as data privacy.