A big cause of flight delays is the unpredictability of ground maintenance for incoming aircraft. You never know whether there will be issues with landing gear or the barf left by the guy in 12A. You don't really know until the airplane is at its gate.

Wireless technology can let Continental gather all that information while the aircraft taxis. By the time the plane arrives at the gate, maintenance workers are ready to go (at LaGuardia, they'd have time to do a systemwide backup and crack a few encryption algorithms). $280,000 and maybe an airline saved.

This special issue isn't just about the technology that will survive or the trends that will emerge or the vendors that will still be around. This is about your own survival and that of your business.

Yet to survive is merely to hang on. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping to thrive. Survival is about doing your part, answering the call, joining in. Thriving is about stepping up, making the call, leading. Survivors solve problems. Thrivers seek opportunity.

I hired Jim Hutchinson to be this publication's editor because he has a unique vision about the role of IT in organizations--a vision rooted in his ongoing practice at Children's Hospital of understanding business goals, such as being the top pediatric cardiology hospital in the nation. He did this by sitting at the table with, say, the director of radiology or the chief medical officer.

These days you can't talk to a company that doesn't want to be the recognized leader in its market, whether it's Children's Hospital or Continental Airlines. Every industry has a unique set of business initiatives, but most companies care greatly about things like embracing customers and partners more effectively or delivering products and services swiftly to market, understanding customer demand and tapping into the right distribution channels.



In the preceding pages, we detail how technology gets you there. Mike Fratto writes about security as an enabler of new revenue opportunities and of customer transaction. Bruce Boardman writes of network and systems management as a vital element in building customer loyalty and in letting your company offer differentiated services.

Thriving will require tight and consistent partnerships between IT and business managers. You'll have to break down the wall over which technology problems are thrown and demand an active seat in business goal discussion. Moreover, you'll need to become a proactive leader who initiates those conversations and seeks opportunities for technology to drive business.

Since you're the only one capable of understanding how technology can play that role, hold yourself accountable for business success and challenge your company to do the same. Best wishes for a thriving new year.