Government Agencies Seek Tech Solutions That Promote Efficiency, Reduce Costs, New CompTIA Study Finds

Downers Grove, IL (PRWEB) May 17, 2011

Challenged by tight budgets, bureaucratic hurdles and a dramatic rise in cybersecurity attacks, government agencies are looking for technology solutions that help them become more efficient while at the same time reducing costs, according to new research released today by CompTIA, the non-profit association for the information technology (IT) industry.

CompTIAs Second Annual Government IT Purchase Plans study finds that the top influencer driving government IT purchase plans over the next 12 months is a desire to become more efficient and reduce long-term costs. It was identified as an influential or very influential factor in purchase decisions by 60 percent of the government IT decision makers or influencers surveyed.

A significant number of respondents, 54 percent, said the need to comply with a mandate or regulation is a driving factor in IT spending. Other top purchase influencers include responding to the needs of citizens and staff (53 percent); and the need to modernize aging systems (47 percent), especially systems that are vulnerable to security threats due to dated technology.

Though budget challenges and the burden of bureaucracy can slow the pace of change, government technology spending will continue, particularly on solutions that help to ease the challenges of resources and security, said Amy Carrado, director, market research, CompTIA.

But with money to spend increasingly precious, agencies are likely to demand greater returns on their investments and require vendors to clearly prove the effectiveness of their solutions.

Nearly four in ten (39 percent) of federal, state and local government IT decision makers and influencers identified new data backup and recovery solutions as a priority over the next 12 months. Security applications were cited by 37 percent of respondents, followed by virtualization solutions (30 percent) and content management solutions (24 percent). Options such as unified communications and cloud computing (18 percent each) ranked slightly lower on the list.

This may be a signal that government users need further education from their IT providers on how cloud computing and unified communications can effectively address their objectives of greater operational efficiencies, Carrado said.

Among specific products on government shopping lists, desktop PCs (51 percent) and laptop PCs (48 percent) hold the top two spots, according to the CompTIA study. Local government agencies are especially bullish on purchases of new PCs, including tablet PCs.

Other purchase priorities for the next 12 months include servers (37 percent), printers (33 percent), operating systems (32 percent), productivity suites and software (28 percent), network infrastructure (27 percent) and smart phones (23 percent).

Agencies Plan More Training

Nearly half (44 percent) of government IT respondents at the federal, state and local levels plan to implement employee training for both IT staff and end users over the next 12 months

This suggests that even under severe budget constraints, government agencies continue to recognize the importance of a well-trained workforce that understands how to effectively use technology, Carrado said.

Among the training priorities: PC maintenance, help desk and tech support; security; disaster recovery and backup; and networking. Project management, business intelligence and data management and analysis also appear on the training priority list.

Increased interest by government agencies in training is something that technology vendors and solution providers should note, according to Carrado.

Technology providers should consider providing training sessions as a value-add when government organizations purchase a product, or offering mini-tutorials to employees at agencies where there is potential for purchases in the near future, she said.

CompTIAs Second Annual Government IT Purchase Plans study was developed from a survey of 375 federal, state and local IT buyers and influencers. The data was collected during late February 2011.The full report is available at no cost to CompTIA members at http://www.comptia.org or by contacting the research department at research(at)comptia(dot)org.

About CompTIA

CompTIA is the voice of the worlds information technology (IT) industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, CompTIA is the recognized authority for IT education and credentials and the primary advocate for IT businesses and workers. Through its foundation, CompTIA also enables disadvantaged populations to gain the skills they need for employment in the IT industry. CompTIAs vision of the IT landscape is shaped by more than 25 years of global perspective and more than 2,000 members and 1,000 business partners. For more information, visit http://www.comptia.org or follow CompTIA on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/comptia.

Contact:

Steven Ostrowski

Director, Corporate Communications

CompTIA

630-678-8468

sostrowski(at)comptia(dot)org

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Government Agencies Seek Tech Solutions That Promote Efficiency, Reduce Costs, New CompTIA Study Finds

Intronis Offers its Partners the Chance to Reduce their Manhours per GigabyteTM

Boston, MA (PRWEB) November 01, 2011

Intronis, a world class provider of a trustworthy, easy-to-use, and reliable cloud backup solution, is ensuring that each of its partners has the ability to reduce their Manhours per Gigabyte (MPG). MPG allows each of our partners to evaluate their time and determine how it is spent with their customers.

Neal Bradbury, Co-Founder and VP of Operations at Intronis, states, The ability to reduce ones MPG is an opportunity we feel all our partners should have in their businesses. In our latest software release, the deployable installer and templates allow partners to spend less time traveling back and forth between customer sites. Additionally, with the Intronis solution, partners are confident that their backups will work correctly the first time, saving them not only additional time but the headaches of failed backups.” As our partners say, it just works!

Reclaiming your time is not just a dream, its a reality with Intronis Cloud Backup and the companys commitment to its partners success. Learn more about reclaiming your time here: http://www.manhourspergigabyte.com.

About Intronis

Intronis is a cloud provider of backup and disaster recovery services for the IT channel. Intronis utilizes 256-bit AES security and multiple data centers located on opposite coasts to ensure data protection and availability. Intronis offers IT service providers a secure data solution combined with a robust partner program, the efficiencies of full web-based account management, and an industry leading technical support team. http://www.intronis.com.

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Intronis Offers its Partners the Chance to Reduce their Manhours per GigabyteTM

XSolutions Unveils Starter Website Program to Reduce the Cost and Hassle of Getting On the Net for Small Businesses

Pomona, NY (PRWEB) September 27, 2012

Many small businesses still do not have a website. In fact, a recent study from Statistic Brain puts that percentage as high as 75%. BizReport cites a study from WebVisible claiming that nearly 50% of businesses either do not have a website or do not put much effort to promote the site they do have. Whichever number you believe, the fact is that these statistics are staggering and troubling.

Without a website, your business is virtually invisible to your prospects and customers, says Joseph Imperato Sr., Managing Partner at XSolutions. Today, people use the internet to find vendors; the printed phone book is a relic from the past. If you do not have a website not many people will know your business exists.

In an effort to help small companies, XSolutions unveiled its new Starter Website Program specifically designed to get a basic website up and running in just a few days. For less than $ 10.00 a month, XSolutions will:

XSolutions Unveils Starter Website Program to Reduce the Cost and Hassle of Getting On the Net for Small Businesses

Print Audit and Supplies Network Partner to Reduce Cost of Premier Subscription

Calgary, Alberta and St. Louis, Missouri (PRWEB) November 02, 2012

Print Audit, the print management company, and Supplies Network, the largest privately-owned wholesaler of IT consumables in the United States, have partnered to provide Managed Print Services providers with access to a wide range of MPS-related solutions and services, as well as an opportunity to reduce the subscription cost of Print Audit Premier.

Supplies Networks MPS program mpsSELECT includes the fundamental building blocks for dealers to build their own MPS portfolio from the ground up. The services include Data Collection Service, Supply Management Systems, Service Monitoring, Service Desk, Supply Routing Labels, and Cost Per Image Service. Now dealers can enjoy Supplies Networks full portfolio not just supplies replenishment with this refreshed plan from the partnership.

Print Audit Premier is a new subscription program that gives dealers virtually unlimited access to a full array of print management capabilities including remote meter reading, cost recovery, rules-based printing, in-depth print assessment, as well as secure print release and pull-printing.

With the new integration between the two companies, supplies, service and meter information captured by Print Audit Facilities Manager can now be automatically imported into Supplies Networks patent-pending 360 Plus

Print Audit and Supplies Network Partner to Reduce Cost of Premier Subscription

New Compliance Training Series from Wombat Security Helps Companies Address PCI Awareness Training Requirements and Reduce Risk

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) November 13, 2012

Wombat Security Technologies (Wombat), a leading provider of cyber security awareness and training solutions, today announced the release of its newest training series created to help retailers and businesses address key requirements of common privacy laws and data protection mandates, including PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance. To ensure security policy and procedures are met and reduce the risk of data theft, security awareness training is a mandatory requirement of the PCI Data Security Standard for all employees who handle cardholder data. Wombats new compliance training series leverages the companys proven learning techniques to clearly explain data security requirements to employees and emphasize their responsibility towards securing sensitive information, while simplifying compliance monitoring and reporting for PCI managers.

The key is not just awareness; it is behavior change; as such, interactive security awareness training platforms help compliance managers effectively administer mandated employee education, prove the completion of training in the event of an audit, and actually change the way that employees behave. The result is lower risk for the organization said Andrew Walls, Vice President of Security, Risk and Privacy of Gartner. Companies that employ new interactive cyber security assessment and context aware security training software are reporting reductions in susceptibility to employee-targeted attacks, which translates to fewer breaches and lower remediation costs.

At the most recent PCI Council meeting, the organization reported that security breaches were at the worst level since the group was founded. With data breaches capturing top news headlines, it is more important than ever for companies to enhance their data security and compliance protocols. The 12 requirements for PCI DSS compliance include annual training of employees to maintain and enhance a businesss internal security controls.

Today every organization is a target for cyber criminals and employees are one of the primary attack vectors yet many businesses lack the expertise and resources to effectively train their people against these growing cyber threats, said Joe Ferrara, President and CEO of Wombat Security Technologies. As employees learn how to identify and report attacks, they become invaluable to a companys defensive as well as offensive security posture.

Wombats new compliance training series includes: PCI-DSS requirements, as well as, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Data Protection and Destruction so that compliance managers can:

New Compliance Training Series from Wombat Security Helps Companies Address PCI Awareness Training Requirements and Reduce Risk