Don't take an R&D R&R

It's no longer a question of whether revenue streams have declined but rather by how much.

And the latest technology company results offer some tough reading.

Despite their spin, the bottom line is they're making less money.

Of course this is no surprise given this is the situation for pretty much most companies in the world at the moment.

But what disheartens me for this sector is the prospect of innovation being suffocated.

My greatest fear is that R&D becomes something big IT companies simply acquire from the smaller guy.

If more and more IT companies are consolidated, which analysts expect to continue, then research and development could take a nose-dive.

It is generally more cost effective to buy out a company that has developed software than to develop it yourself. But what happens to the user relationship with the IT company?

You then have the old problem of a technology company owning different sets of kit that don't necessarily fit together. Ironically spending years forcing them together is probably more expensive than coming up with new IT from scratch.

Software companies need to make sure that development doesn't fall off the radar in the cost saving and streamlining drive, and that they invest on what users want - not what they can get by with.