Waxing Nostalgic On CRN's 25th Birthday

When I started my career here at CRN, I was very much tied to my desk. Not so much because we were stingy with the travel budget, but because filing dozens of column inches of copy every week from the road was virtually impossible unless I resorted to a technique I learned in my days as a wire service reporter—hightailing it to a pay-phone bank before my rivals could do the same and dictating my stories. I once ran over Rudy Giuliani in my enthusiasm. Who knew?

So here I am, marveling at the fact that CRN is a young 25 years old this month, thinking about how much things have changed and how much things, like the influence, resiliency and flexibility of the channel, have endured.

For extreme perspective, consider this statistic that will be released this week by market research firm Forrester: By the end of 2008, we will cross the 1 billion mark in terms of PCs in use. But here's the more stunning number: By the end of 2015, the firm predicts that we'll surpass 2 billion PCs in use. Think about it: It took 27 years for the industry to hit the 1 billion PC mark, but it'll probably take only five years to double that installed base.

Of course, the PC itself will take many different shapes. Notebooks will account for a large portion of the shipments in developed nations, while interest in environmental issues will renew interest in thin-client systems and multiuser PC usage. Emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China will loom large—at least for vendors. It remains to be seen how much U.S.-based VARs and business technology solution providers will participate outside their home turf. Right now, at least, the pace of adoption seems to be outpacing the ability of reseller contracts and trade regulations to keep up with the globalizing economy.

All around us, there are all sorts of killer technologies emerging -- ones that will rival the innovations we recognize in our Top 25 Technology Breakthroughs Of All Time slide show. There are two themes certain to dominate the dialogue for the next 25 years. First is the PC that doesn't look like a PC -- all the devices and gadgets, under human control and otherwise, that will contribute to our computing experience wherever we happen to be. The second is all tied up in collaboration and community, the reasons everyone is so hot and bothered about the Web 2.0 movement.

As CRN has learned from its long-term position as channel advocate, the best solution providers will morph to embrace these new themes. To those who have shared our 25-year journey of evolution, we wish you a very happy birthday. To the channel community at large, may you endure through innovation, persistence and partnership for years to come.