John Higgins was appointed director general of the Computing Services and Software Association (CSSA), now part of Intellect, five years ago, at a time when the internet was still unknown to many people.

"In big firms, business leaders were asking anxious questions about Y2K and the possibilities of this 'internet' thing their children had told them about," says Higgins. As a result, their internet investments were not always well thought out. Higgins says many plans boiled down to "build a web site" and "invest in e-commerce".

Asked to identify the key events of the past five years, Higgins points to the mergers of HP and Compaq, AOL and Time Warner, and Logica and CMG; the rise and fall of dot-coms; and the growth of text messaging. He adds that WAP and customer relationship management (CRM) were also important technologies. But the main consideration for businesses has remained the same, he says: "As the industry matured a constant remained - the customer is king."

Higgins notes that governments took a much greater interest in technology over the past five years. Indeed, government initiatives are a key focus for Intellect - an amalgamation of the old CSSA and the Federation of the Electronics Industry. "During this time we were busy trying to get governments not to damage the embryonic e-commerce environment," he says. "For example, there was a powerful lobby in some parts of the world to tax the internet. We put a lot of effort into getting the UK government's e-commerce act to be a supportive piece of legislation, too."

Looking ahead, Higgins says that the IT industry will face scepticism from company directors, some of whom got their fingers burnt by past investments that failed to pay off. "By the end of 2004 big corporates may have unlocked the IT managers' budgets, but with chief executives much more IT-aware they expect better returns on their investments," says Higgins. "The challenge to the industry will be to demonstrate to customers the real value of their solutions."

He predicts that there will be a move away from the search for IT's "next big thing". Instead, organisations and consumers will demand technology that "does what it says on the tin".

Mobile solutions will continue to become cheaper, faster, more pervasive and more secure, says Higgins. "But it will be a constant and expensive fight to keep ahead of the hackers and fraudsters," he adds.

Despite the difficulties, Higgins says the outlook for the IT industry and Intellect is bright: "Both are in good shape to perform their roles in the years ahead. It's a consequence of being a grown-up industry doing an important job in the real world."

Have your say: reply to IT Week

ABOUT JOHN HIGGINS
John Higgins is director general of IT industry body Intellect.

He previously held the same post at the CSSA.

He trained as a systems analyst and has held management roles at Ernst & Young and Softwright.

Higgins is a director of E-skills UK, and also sits on the CBI's Trade Association Council.