What is CompTIA?

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) was established in 1982 with the goal of advancing the growth of the information technology (IT) industry and those working within it. More than 20 years later, it has become the leading global IT trade association and has influence in all areas of the IT industry worldwide. Much like the IT industry itself, CompTIA has grown in popularity from its small beginning of four companies, to more than 15,000 member companies in 83 countries. Through increasing its own popularity, CompTIA has been able to help facilitate the growth of the IT industry by promoting industry standards, growing professional IT expertise, providing IT skills education, and developing relevant business solutions.

Through the years CompTIA has developed specialized initiatives and programs dedicated to major areas within the industry as those areas, themselves, were developing. Currently, CompTIA has eight distinct membership sections that reflect the diverse possibilities within the IT industry. By keeping abreast of the trends and technological advances within the IT industry, CompTIA is able to create interest in and understanding of categories like: convergence technology, e-commerce, IT training, software services, certification, public policy, workforce development, and technology learning.

While this is CompTIA's main initiative, it is also heavily involved in public policy and strives to provide a unified voice that represents all involved in the IT industry. By influencing legislation that both protects and advances the interests of the technology community, CompTIA is able to make an impact on public policy issues like privacy, anti-trust, availability of IT training tax credits, and e-waste recycling.

Another major contribution CompTIA makes to the community is the creation of certification exams. It is the world's largest developer of vendor-neutral IT certification exams. CompTIA employs the assistance of experts and industry leaders from both public and private sectors (such as training, academia, government, etc.) to develop broad-based, foundational exams that accurately assess an individual's IT skill set. CompTIA has made many major contributions to the IT industry to date, and will continue to be a major player in the success and development of the technology field well into the future.