Competitive
Stoke on Trent
Premium Reseller Group is one stage in trade body's plans
The Technology Channels Association has set up a Premium Reseller Group for leaders in the channel to share their experiences – part of the trade body’s wider plans to become the true “voice of the channel”.
CEO Adam Harris announced the new group at the TCA Christmas Dinner this week. It will be jointly facilitated and hosted by IT association CompTIA, and is hoped to be followed by regional reseller groups.
Harris said: “The reseller group is a collection of business leaders from the channel who are willing to share their experiences. The idea of Masterminding is not new but the open discussion inherent in the process provides a platform for shared ideas as well as minimising risk.”
The TCA also announced at the event its partnership with insurer Hiscox, which will see the trade body’s members receiving professional indemnity insurance within their subscription.
“This is a tremendous bonus and can serve to boost reseller’s confidence and success in tackling projects and ventures that they might otherwise be shy of, and is all part of our objective to improve professionalism in the sector,” Harris said.
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Other elements of the TCA’s ‘roadmap’ for the year ahead include membership benefits with online company search facility Risk Disk, restructuring of the association’s membership, the formation of the TCA Academy and a move into career professional development.
The TCA aims to host a process that will amalgamate qualifications such as CompTIA’s A+ with vendors' technical qualifications, academic qualifications and participation in other industry events.
“This requires the industry to work together to formally recognise competence and excellence in a manner that is easily understood by our end-users”, Harris said. “This process needs the buy-in of the major players within the sector, but early indications are that they are broadly supportive of our aims; we’re not re-inventing the wheel, the spokes are there already, its just a case of the TCA becoming the hub that ties it all together.”
This all sounds very exciting and I will be very interested in learning more about the detailed plans. My only immediate thought is why does the TCA and CompTIA need to be two separate bodies? Would it not make sense for CompTIA to absorb the TCA and other trade bodies to form one large UK trade body that is well funded on the successful US model? Such a body would have legs from the word go as there would be no duplication of effort and costs.
Whilst there is a fair degree of overlap between TCA and CompTIA, there is sufficient difference to make it desireable for the two to focus on what each does well. We are a UK channel organisation, dedicated to doing good things for all of our members across the channel. CompTIA is primarily a certification / accrediation organisation, with a global focus. We can certainly compliment what each other does.
