How to prove the quality of your IT business with CompTIA and Accredit UK

I’ve been reflecting on my last meeting as Chair of the CompTIA UK Channel Community, which gathered in our biggest meeting to date on October 22nd, 2012 in London (more on that to come in a later blog post).

Over 135 Resellers, Vendors and Distributors were in attendance for our busiest meeting yet.

Busy because there were two huge announcements at the event.

CompTIA IT Business Trustmark

The first was the finalisation of the CompTIA IT Business Trustmark.

Almost a year ago our community put their support behind an initiative to create a Trustmark that would allow an IT company to demonstrate its sound business practices and show that it provides quality service.

On October 22nd 2012, after months of hard work from both CompTIA and volunteers from the member community, that Trustmark became a reality for UK IT companies.

The credential validates that an IT company follows industry best practices related to service agreements, standard operating procedures, and systems and tools for delivering its services.

Going forwards, I hope it will help buyers and suppliers to find the best IT companies to work with.

This Trustmark will undoubtedly develop and grow, but for me as departing Chair of the Community, it’s an amazing demonstration of what can be achieved when you get enough good people together who are passionate about a subject – in this case, raising the bar of professionalism in the IT industry.

If you’d like to get started with an application for the CompTIA IT Business Trustmark, you can do so today.

CompTIA and Accredit UK to merge

Talking of good and passionate people, the second huge announcement at the Community meeting was that CompTIA announced plans to merge with Accredit UK.

For those unfamiliar with Accredit UK, it is a strong audited industry credential for those IT companies wishing to prove their procedural excellence and adherence to best practices. You might think of it (as I do) as the premier Trustmark for IT companies.

I’ve been a huge advocate of Accredit UK throughout the years, ever since my own MSP business went through the process. I wrote at length about What I think about Accredit UK and how it changed my business.

Why the merger?

Well over two years ago, I introduced Vaughan Shayler of Accredit UK and William Linard of CompTIA to each other, based on the fact they were both passionate about raising the bar of professionalism in the IT industry.

It was always clear to me that Vaughan and his team at Accredit UK were absolutely dedicated in their work towards helping IT companies become as good a business as they could be. Accredit UK wanted to see the IT industry take on a more professional image.

This was a message that I kept seeing in the work that CompTIA did too. For me, I felt the two were absolutely aligned in the same direction.

They must have felt so too, because as well as integrating Accredit UK into the CompTIA Trustmark schemes, it was announced that Vaughan Shayler would be joining CompTIA as Director of Channel Strategy at CompTIA in the UK! Congratulations to Vaughan!

What the merger means

Personally, I’m so pleased for Vaughan that he’s joining CompTIA. Vaughan is one of the world’s experts on IT business operations and deserves to be heard on a larger platform, one which CompTIA will now provide.

Professionally, I’m delighted that Accredit UK will be joining the CompTIA family. CompTIA are the IT industries Trade Association. They lead the discussion for the IT Channel, have influence at many levels and are respected. The good work that Accredit UK have done and will continue doing can now be heard by more people in our industry than ever before.

Conclusion

Almost two years into the growth of the UK Channel Community, and I’m over the moon that we’ve achieved two major milestones in IT business Trustmarks.

The CompTIA IT Business Trustmark is a fantastic way for IT businesses to stand up and differentiate themselves from their competitors as a professional, progressive organisation.

The CompTIA Accredit UK standard is now set to be the premier accreditation for IT companies to demonstrate in a vendor neutral way that they don’t just say they are the best, they are the best.

If you’re an IT company wanting to differentiate yourself from the competition, and prove to your clients and suppliers that you’re a progressive and professional business, then you should check out CompTIA’s work.

Exciting times.

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