Each day, media and analysts saturate the airwaves and newsstands dourly proclaiming the eulogy of the technology industry. The prognosticators who once heralded the golden age of the Internet now predict its downfall. Those who knighted scores of dot-com businesses as the heirs to the Fortune 500, in hindsight, mock those companies’ foolishness. “Tech had a good run, but it’s over now.”
The rest of us are not blind to the effects of the past 12 months. We understand that the dark offices permeating Silicon Valley have more to do with layoffs than the rolling California brown outs. But, on behalf of the entire technology industry — enough already!

I believe that the long-term outlook for technology services is still very positive. Why? Because basic technology development hasn’t stopped. Forward-looking companies like Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo and Citibank use information technology as a competitive weapon. Their peers are forced to play catch-up just to stay competitive. In either case, these companies need the help of external services vendors for expertise in implementing new technology.

This year will separate the men from the boys in the industry. The companies that will survive will be those that focus on execution, on operational efficiency, on cash flow and on profitability. Revenue growth, bill rates and margins are less important as companies try to survive the short term to realize long-term success.