CompTIA swallows TCA

From 1 November the TCA brand will cease to exist as the trade associations join forces

Joining forces: CompTIA has agreed to absorb the TCA

Trade body the Technology Channels Association (TCA) has been absorbed into its much larger and multi-national rival association CompTIA.

From 1 November this year, the TCA brand will cease to exist, and the TCA will become part of the CompTIA Community, ChannelWeb.co.uk can reveal.

Matthew Poyiadgi, vice president international at CompTIA told ChannelWeb.co.uk: "We are two associations trying to serve the same people and CompTIA is really good at communities. We are proud of listening to partners and responding to their needs. The TCA has got hundreds of members in the UK and this will bring the two associations together and stop us operating against each other with the same objectives."

The structure of the organisation will be structured in three circles, Poyiadgi explained, with the 25-strong Executive Council at the centre, the 100 strong Community in the middle and the 800-strong Members as the larger outer layer.

He added: "The reseller community has been talking to us all along and asking why we didn't just acquire the TCA. It made perfect sense. This will allow us to really focus our energy. [The TCA team] have strengths in some areas and we are good at other things. If we bring everything together it is really good for the channel."

Poyiadgi said the existing TCA team would be brought on board with no intention of forcing anyone to stand down.

"We are not changing any of the people as such," he said. "They can join with us and see what they think, and help us put together a plan to serve the community."

As a result, CompTIA plans to appoint a chair and vice chair and allow them to head up the new CompTIA Community, Poyiadgi said.

"The reseller community needs a single platform and a stronger voice," he said. "We want to grow this really quickly and start focusing on resellers and our reseller membership and engagement. We are going to get away from doing 50 things a year and just focus on five things. It is a very exciting announcement. "

Robert French, chairman of the TCA, said: "This allows us to focus our combined efforts on one channel and it will benefit all the members. We are impressed by the way CompTIA addresses the things it does."

More details will be revealed at the TCA/CompTIA conference at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel at Heathrow tomorrow and Thursday, Poyiadgi and French said in a conference call earlier today.