CompTIA reveals the trends the channel must track

One of the positives for resellers remains the number of potential technologies that can be pitched to customers with a wide range of areas changing as customers equip themselves for the future.

Industry body CompTIA has produced its IT Industry Outlook 2019, which has settled on 12 trends that the organisation believes are shaping the direction of the next 11 months.

Most of the trends are long-term and will last well beyond 2019 but they should spur thoughts about resellers looking to help customers start or head further on a journey towards a digitally transformed future.

The list includes some of the current hot topics of cloud, IoT, AI and 5G but also covers some of the people and economic issues with skills and innovation also included.

“This year’s trends reaffirm the importance of thinking about technology holistically,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA.

“While discussions of ‘The Next Big Thing’ have their place, the practical reality for most organisations is the need to understand how technology building blocks spanning infrastructure, applications, data, and as-a-service models fit together," he added.

CompTIA is also making a forecast of global IT industry growth of 4%. If things gom well iot could hit 6.4% but an economic slowdown could take it down to the low end of 1.5%.

Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA, said that it viewed its responsibility as a provider of training and advice in getting the channel in a position where it could support the technologies being demanded by customers.

“It’s an exciting time as we embark on the next wave of innovation. Technology is more accessible than ever; and there are more opportunities to use technology to build and grow organizations,” said Thibodeaux.

“While the potential is great, the challenges and anxieties are great, too,” he added “Our mission is to work with the tech community, and the workforce of today and tomorrow, to turn the possibilities of innovation into the realities of real-word benefits for the users of technology.”