SYSPRO USA President Joey Benadretti Joins Advocacy Group for...

CompTIA "Fly-In" Meets with Elected Officials, House Committee Members to Discuss Tax Burden, Workforce Development, Unemployment, Other Issues Affecting SMBs

COSTA MESA, Calif. - November 15, 2011 - SYSPRO, a developer of best-of-breed, award-winning enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for on-premise and cloud-based utilization, today announced that SYSPRO USA President Joey Benadretti recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he joined CompTIA executives on Capitol Hill in meeting with elected officials and House committee members. The objective of the "Fly-In" was to advocate public policies which are IT-friendly, meet the needs of SMBs (Small, Medium Businesses) and help the sector create jobs and reinvigorate the economy. As a CompTIA advocate and TechVoice Partner of CompTIA, Benadretti met with local, state and national representatives and Congressional staff members to discuss issues affecting the IT community. Meeting attendees included US Congress members Loretta Sanchez, Peter Roskam and Gary G. Miller; Quentin A. Palfrey, Senior Advisor for Jobs & Competitiveness; Paul Sass, Deputy Director of the House Small Business Committee; and staff from the offices of Senators Feinstein and Boxer.

Said Benadretti, "I welcomed the opportunity to join fellow CompTIA/Tech Voice members in making Congress aware of the issues affecting SMBs, particularly those located in Southern California. The area is home to the second largest gathering of high-technology companies, most of which employ less than 50 workers. As President of SYSPRO USA and also a concerned citizen, I want to make the US Government aware of our environment, our marketplace, our needs and our future."

Among the items CompTIA discussed with Sanchez, Roskam, Miller and the other officials were: Increasing the IT Industry's access to capital; Reduction and streamline of payroll taxes for small IT firms; Fostering education and the expansion of the IT workforce; and the Enactment of a uniform approach to data breaches and notification.

According to CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux, "The IT workforce shortage that leaves 450,000 IT-related jobs unfilled at a time of record unemployment is a major concern. Also on the table are several federal policies that can help close this gap, including utilizing certification and technical education to prepare workers and allocating the proper resources to re-train workers with new skills. These steps can help place workers in positions that are desperate to be filled."

The CompTIA fly-in took place November 1 - 3.

About CompTIA

CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, CompTIA is the recognized authority for IT education and credentials and the primary advocate for IT businesses and workers. Through its foundation, CompTIA also enables disadvantaged populations to gain the skills needed for employment in the IT industry. CompTIA's vision of the IT landscape is shaped by more than 25 years of global perspective and more than 2,000 members and 1,000 business partners. For more information, visit www.comptia.org or follow CompTIA on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/comptia.

About SYSPRO

SYSPRO has earned the trust of more than 14,500 companies globally for its suite of visionary software that enhances the competitive thrust of small/mid-sized manufacturers and distributors. The company's adherence to developing technology based on the needs of customers is among the reasons why SYSPRO enjoys one of the highest customer retention rates in the industry.
For more information, visit: www.syspro.com

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