TCA outlines future roadmap

Trade body uses its recent networking Christmas dinner to unveil plans for 2010

Adam Harris: The TCA will become the hub that ties it all together

Trade body TCA is embarking on a quest to become the "true voice of the channel".

Chief executive Adam Harris used the organisation’s recent Christmas networking dinner in Nottingham to outline the future roadmap of the TCA.

Part of the announcement was the formation of the Premium Reseller Group, which CRN first discussed with the TCA in November. The group will feature high-level business leaders from about a quarter of the TCA’s top members. It will be jointly facilitated and hosted by the UK’s other trade body CompTIA.

In his address to Christmas revellers, Harris said: “The TCA has restructured its membership to ensure it is clear and easy to understand; wherever you are positioned within the channel there are clear benefits in being a member.

“These benefits will increase over time as we respond to our members’ needs and the opportunities that are being offered to us.”

The TCA is also organising another event in February, entitled Making and Saving More Money. See the TCA web site for more details.

The revelations did not stop there. Harris also announced a link-up with specialist technology insurance firm Hiscox.

“We are finalising a scheme with Hiscox which will provide our members with professional indemnity insurance within their membership subscription,” he said, adding that the deal would give members standard Ts&Cs.

Finally Harris mooted the creation of the TCA Academy – where it aims to host a vendor-neutral process that will amalgamate qualifications such as CompTIA’s A+ with vendor technical certifications and academic qualifications.

“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. “We are not reinventing the wheel; the spokes are there already, it is just a case of the TCA becoming the hub that ties it all together.”