Giving IT Thanks – in Advance

This Thanksgiving week, I thought I would take the opportunity to think about the IT things I am grateful for-and some things I would like to be grateful for.

• I am thankful for the very smart people who evolve technology at a pace faster than we can sometimes tolerate.
• I am thankful for the level of competition that drives our industry-especially from the open-source realm-challenging vendors to deliver better products and enabling IT professionals to deliver the best possible solutions for their organizations.
• I am thankful for the ways in which technology is enriching every aspect of our lives, providing capabilities most of us couldn’t have imagined even 10 years ago.
• I am thankful that the economy appears to have hit bottom, and that 2010 is looking like it will be a little brighter than the year that must not be named.
• I am thankful that I work with a group of people who are not only the best at what they do, but are also funny and kind, and keep me on my toes at all times.
• I am thankful for eWEEK’s readers, and for the publication reaching its 25th anniversary.

With all that said, there are some things that I hope I can be thankful for next year.

• I hope to be thankful for the economy continuing to improve, and that government, companies and individuals have learned their lessons well.
• I hope to be thankful that the improving economy leads to IT budgets opening up, and that shiny new technology drives productivity and innovation across all industries.
• I hope to be thankful for the unemployment rate dropping precipitously, and for IT and other ranks swelling with the many capable people who have been out of work.
• I hope to be thankful for a crop of new products coming from a new wave of innovative startups.
• I hope to be thankful that new products from these and other vendors are designed and built with interoperability and value high on the priority list.
• I hope to be thankful for clearer and more unique communications. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the like are great, but I’m having a tough time assimilating all of those updates.
• I hope to be thankful that the technology that enriches some of our lives is enriching most if not all of our lives, especially when it comes to education. (The digital divide is, unfortunately, alive and well.)

On a personal note, I am grateful for my family and for all of my blessings. What are you thankful for this year?

eWEEK Editor Deb Donston can be reached at ddonston@eweek.com.