A Nod To The Technical Gurus Behind Some Of This

or someone who was an English major, deep down I'm a bit of a computer geek, something I attribute to my mother's early involvement with Apple Computer. My first encounter with personal computing came courtesy of a Lisa system, which may explain my soft spot for the Macintosh and for technologies that seem to sit on the edge of mainstream adoption.

That's one of the reasons I really loved pulling together CRN's first-ever 25 Innovators list, which features the hands-on technical gurus and product visionaries behind some of this year's most talked-about technologies. There were plenty of criteria that drove the editorial team's selections, but the strongest emphasis was placed on how each candidate's work has ultimately impacted the channel,or how it will do so in the future.

As the nominations flowed in, several themes emerged.

First, software development issues and Web services enablers proved a powerful influence. The technologists we recognize on the following pages include those who have contributed to enabling server virtualization on the Intel architecture, providing tools for the development and management of grid computing environments, creating more efficient software programming techniques, and acting as the first brave evangelists on behalf of XML and SOAP.

Security, of course, was another dominant force. And it shouldn't surprise you to learn that at least two of the people responsible for helping protect your customers' valuable IT assets got into the field because they were trying to solve a problem on their own behalf and discovered it might have a more widespread application.

When you come down to it, that's where a lot of these 25 inventors got their inspiration: They were presented with a technical or business challenge for which there was no existing solution. The difference between these individuals and the rest of us is they possessed the technical talent and drive to realize their vision,either on their own or as the leader of a team. Now it's up to innovative channel partners to help bring their inventions to the computing masses.