Leader: The big issues of 2006

Looking back at 2006 is in many ways about looking forward to 2007. What did we learn? What will be different?

The big developments that span the worlds of tech with the world of business or government aren't about bits and bytes in isolation. The key topics, at a high level, are all about issues, people, processes, even places.

Unapologetically this publication still focuses strongly on outsourcing and offshoring. These are disruptive forces and those user organisations that approach them sensibly will stand to benefit most, though no one should be so dogmatic to assume they are the right choice for all.

In 2007 we will look to revisit India, among other places, and catch up on some of the ground-breaking work we did back in 2004. (Remember this?)

This year our overseas focus was, well, in lots of places, but our big push came with trying to find out what was going on in China. Of course no one can ever fully go 'Inside China', certainly not in just a few weeks. But we stand by a commitment to keep on trying to see beyond the top veneer of this vast, fascinating economy.

Two areas which remain the most interesting and - arguably - the most important continue to be a focus for us. So check out our 'Re:Viewing' pieces on security and mobile and wireless.

The middle of this year saw us launch the third silicon.com section that provides business and technology coverage by homing in on a vertical market. We chose retail and leisure - the leisure allows us to include juicy areas such as gambling and hotels - after the two big boys, public sector and financial services.

But if we're looking for even bigger themes, it might be that we need to ask about the influence of technology in our working lives versus that in our private lives. This publication continues to talk to those who are buying IT in huge quantities, from CIOs of some of the world's leading companies to thousands of small businesses, all of whom matter. Many of these people do a great job implementing IT but we still hear so many stories of failure.

This piece certainly isn't about attributing blame for any shortcomings but compare the situation to the world of consumer tech, not just gadgets and home entertainment but services people use outside the office.

Mobile phones (the world's most successful consumer device), services such as MySpace and hardware like the iPod - they are all loved by millions. Ask someone who generally doesn't 'do' tech and they might well tell you they like one of the above because they just work.

If only we could say the same about so much enterprise technology.

And so it's perhaps no wonder that many IT leaders are looking at alternative ways of running their organisations in the years ahead. Sick of sprawling and expensive IT support? Why not 'do a BP' - let some employees look after their own IT. Want your workforce to collaborate more effectively? Embrace wikis or other web 2.0 phenomena. Worry about upgrades? Go for software as a service (SaaS) - after all, when was the last time you downloaded the latest version of Google?

We won't see a wholesale move away from packaged software and big systems but these are trends.

And finally, so much of what this publication's readers will be able to do will depend on the climate in their boardrooms and, beyond that, the cues those board members take from wider society.

Massive projects such as NHS IT or implementing ID cards will not only affect nearly all of us as patients or citizens but the reputation of tech.

We need to continue to monitor their progress, building on our coverage of the ID-cards project, for example, which netted us a prize for 'Best Online Business Publication' back at the start of 2006.

We also want to continue the type of investigative journalism that saw us this year uncover a big data breach at a leading UK e-tailer. We called for the type of data-compromise disclosure laws that exist now in California. After all, if your database has been hacked it shouldn't just be good practice to tell your customers about the instance but a legal obligation. We will continue to campaign on this and other issues.

Finally, we want to see excellence in IT, not just from the supplier community but from those at the top of user organisations, often CIOs. So expect more on the individuals doing that job - and doing it well - in 2007.