Q & A
Delivering Technology Solutions That Can Change Lives R a ndy Gross, CIO and senior vice president of certification operations, is responsible for all things tech at CompTIA. Here, he shares how technology continues to evolve the member and certification candidate experience as well as how the latest innovations in exam delivery have the power to change people’s lives.
into that. I can point to exactly who did what and how it made a difference.
GROSS: Service is definitely the key role. It's about providing CompTIA with what it needs to be successful and making sure that everyone I work with understands that we're in the customer business and focused on creating positive experiences for members and certification candidates. One of the best parts of my job is that I get to go to training centers, educational institutions and our nonprofit training partners and see our certification candidates. At the training centers I've been to, there are always people studying for CompTIA’s exams, and there are always recruiters looking for people that have our certifications. That’s incredibly rewarding. development. CompTIA’s certifications are designed to change people’s lives. It's also important for the IT industry because it needs qualified candidates. No one would take a test if it didn't make a difference. It's awesome to know how all that gets created and howmy team has factored Working with exam development is directly correlated to workforce
CompTIA: As CIO and senior vice president of certification operations, what does a typical day at CompTIA look like for you?
CompTIA: You've been here 10 years. Can you talk about how technology has progressed and evolved at CompTIA? GROSS: When I started at CompTIA, it seems like a lifetime ago in terms of technology. The staff had desktop computers, and you had to have a reason to take a laptop into a conference room. It was very basic and incredibly limiting. We started with small changes that facilitated more and easier collaboration. Now, the number of ways that employees can collaborate has exploded. The focus has shifted so much from capital expenditures to operational expenditures and that's really helped the functionality and our business needs. We don’t have to think quite as much about what box an application is going to run on, but whether or not it’s going to improve the experience for our stakeholders.
GROSS: I’d say my job breaks down into 40% IT and 60% operations,
including exam delivery, managing our relationships with our partners and customer service. Most of my time is spent communicating with my staff and my peers. A smaller portion of my day is spent either communicating with CompTIA’s certification vendors or working on the latest technology-driven project. My day also consists of a lot of collaborative meetings. My son asks me all the time what my job is. He says, “It seems like all you do is talk on the phone.” And that’s true. I'm always communicating. CompTIA: You’re serving a lot of audiences—CompTIA employees, our members, and our certification customers and alumni. How do you view what you do within the larger mission of CompTIA?
47
CompTIAWorld | FALL 2019
Made with FlippingBook Online document