Al Senia (bio)

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates predicts a bright future for speech recognition, integrated touch-screen technology and tablet computers, all areas that could wind up becoming more important for VARs down the road. It's always interesting when industry mavens like Gates decide to look ahead and go public with their thoughts. He's just given a speech in northern Virgina, where he outlined the tech changes being driven by the corporate and academic sectors (although I always find it a lot more intriguing to see what military research agencies like DARPA are up to because they really think outside the box.)

Gates also predicts that more software services are going to be delivered over the Internet, which sure seems to validate the channel's growing obsession with SaaS. Also on the horizon: More collaborative technologies; the marriage of the Web and television; and the rise of 3-D computing (VARs should love that one.) There's a lot to chew on here, but one thing is certainly clear: Despite worries of economic slowdowns, there's plenty of new opportunity ahead for channel players.