CompTIA Expands Presence in the Convergence Technologies Industry; Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum -ECTF- Becomes a Section of CompTIA.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2003

CompTIA, the world's largest trade association representing the business interests of the information technology industry, announced today that it is enhancing its communications convergence initiatives by adding the Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum (ECTF) to its roster of specialized membership sections. CompTIA and the ECTF will join forces to drive large-scale adoption of core computer telephony technology and standards through the VAR and reseller communities.

With the ECTF becoming a section of CompTIA , the association now is better positioned to help its more than 15,000 members understand the benefits of bringing information and communications technology to the field of telephony. The acquisition enhances CompTIA's ability to provide its ongoing leadership in facilitating and promoting standards for convergence technologies (CT), electronic commerce, professional certification, IT services, public policy and technology learning.

"CompTIA's addition of the ECTF is another outstanding example of the association's efforts to bring value to our members and engage in all areas of the IT industry," said John Venator, CompTIA president and CEO. "We are confident that ECTF participation will help our members grow their businesses and improve their bottom lines by developing and applying computer telephony standards in ways that allow wide-spread deployment of open telephony solutions."

This is the fifth industry association to join forces with CompTIA since 2002, following the ASP Industry Consortium (ASPIC), the Information Technology Training Association (ITTA), the CT (Convergence Technologies) Pioneers and the Electronics Industry Data Exchange Association (EIDX).

"The ECTF members have been very involved in the maturation of the computer telephony industry to the point where the focus now is on wide-scale adoption of the technology by the VAR and reseller communities," said Michael Bayer, chairman of the ECTF and president, Computer Telephony Solutions. "CompTIA is very active in the mainstream channel for broad-based computing technology, and bringing our organization's technology and membership base to join CompTIA was the next logical step for us."

ECTF participants include computer telephony industry suppliers, developers, systems integrators and users working to achieve agreement on multi-vendor implementations of technology based on global standards. The ECTF has been at the forefront of open standards for years with its ECTF Framework for computer telephony interoperability. For more information regarding the ECTF, please visit www.ectf.org.

CompTIA

CompTIA is a global trade association representing the business interests of the information technology industry. For more than 20 years CompTIA has provided research, networking and partnering opportunities to its more than 15,000 members in 89 countries. The association is involved in developing standards and best practices, and influencing the political, economic and educational arenas that impact IT worldwide. More information is at www.comptia.org.