It's great to see an industry evolve.  Having worked with internet technology since 1995, I can say that I've seen quite a bit of evolution happen. Back then, like now, it was a rather tough economic climate for many. Jobs were scarce and after working with linux in its infancy during my computer science years in college, I felt very lucky to get a job cutting my teeth in a "NOC" for a dial up ISP after graduation. I really experienced the garage boot-strap start-up mentality that was so common in that time. Dealing with customers who were pioneers with their websites, it was a time when everyone had to do more with less. However, everyone was optimistic because it really felt like this rather newly public internet technology was a game changer and something that was going to save the world.  

As the 90's wore on and became the new millenium, that feeling snowballed.  Seemingly unending venture capital became the standard for new startups.  Having by that time architected some of the first Internet application architectures, and maybe because of my bootstrap roots, I was always trying to do more with less.  Not to say that I didn't spend my fair share of VC money, sit in a few Aeron chairs, and plan my retirement with stock options in the companies and projects I worked on - I just always felt that there had to be a reason to spend money on something. And if there was a reason to buy something, buy the best bang for your buck. As the bubble burst, and the strong survived, I can happily say that those habits served my projects well.  Many of my architectures survived the collapse and live on in some form today.  

As we see more measured growth in our industry, and similar economic issues, I am seeing and feeling a return to that spirit of optimism as a new generation of technologies and platforms emerge. Internet applications are clearly evolving as the way computing will happen from a pc or wireless device. Infrastructure platforms like virtualization and utility computing are evolving to address critical needs for scalability and flexability and Internet Application Management is concept whose time has come.

Whomever said "May you live in interesting times." really had no idea.

Nate Johnson, CEO - Reliam