In some ways, it comes as little surprise that better use of technology by business could add a massive £35bn to the UK economy.

The sector itself already contributes £66.5bn, or 6.4 per cent of GDP, every year. It is second only to financial services, that much-vaunted ­ – though suddenly vulnerable ­ – success story. And IT is growing ­ – by 125 per cent between 1992 and 2004, compared with 90 per cent for all other sectors.

But it’s not just the money. The technology industry employs one million people directly ­ – that is a job for one in every 20 of the UK workforce ­ – and supports three million overall.

And as businesses make more and better use of technology, so the supply side continues to expand.

UK IT’s voracious appetite will require another 140,000 staff, per year for the next five years; a testament to the still-untapped appetite for technology. But there is also a cause for concern.

The technology education structures in the UK have improved in the past decade, with a greater emphasis on the business skills that go with all high-level positions.

And schemes such as that at British Airways, which focuses on drawing people across from other disciplines, have a lot of scope.

But the skills shortages that have been a staple of Computing editorials for at least the past decade show little sign of abating.

And with low-level jobs increasingly sent offshore, the major question about how graduates progress from university to the high-level jobs that do still exist remains unanswered.

The Technology Pioneers report published at Davos last week is inspiring, not least against the background of plummeting stock markets, predictions of imminent recession and slowing investment in next-generation technology innovation (Investment in media technology sector slumps, www.computing.co.uk/2207915).

It is more important than ever that business makes the best use of all possible potential. But, as is the common refrain in discussions of major IT programmes, the technology can do nothing on its own.