As the year closes it's time for industry columnists to make their bold, wrongheaded predictions for 2006. You won't find that sort of nonsense here. There's no Top 10 or crystal ball or cute list of Things to Watch.

What you will find in this issue is more of the same. A couple more articles about SOA, a recap of the most recent product and alliance events regarding IBM, the long-awaited (and marvelous) final installment about Composite Applications, a WAS article, and some material about software development in general.

As we move into 2006, keep expecting the same steady stream of articles about the various aspects of developing apps with IBM WebSphere. WebSphere cuts across all industries. It is involved in all aspects of governmental application development. And it is involved in a very competitive space characterized by technological innovation and marketing hype-how "proprietary," "commercial," "blended," or "open" are your requirements and how important are these terms to what environment you choose?

The answer to the last part of this question is probably "not very," and market research continues to show WebSphere as the clear leader in web services application development.

That said, some words about SOA are needed. As more companies, either reflexively or deterministically, decide to integrate service-oriented architectures into their app development strategy and tactics, the innovation and competitive issues can be expected to continue. SOA is still in its infancy, a SOA product per se is obviously not something that one can buy, and there is no precise specification for what a SOA is.

Yet SOA is as a SOA does, so companies will continue to define their needs and turn to IBM and its competitors to help fill these needs. At WebSphere Journal, we will follow that story, as well as the many internal dynamics involving WebSphere, as well as some of the people involved. We are planning a full "Interview Issue" for mid-year, as well as focuses on different aspects of WebSphere besides incorporating it for SOA development as the year progresses.

In that spirit, we do need to let our audience know that we are always on the lookout for good article and interview ideas. Address your proposals to editorial@sys-con.com and be specific about what you want to write about or whom you want us to interview. If you have created a good technical article that is looking for a place to be published, by all means send it. We do accept unsolicited articles on occasion.

OK, time for one prediction. As we move through 2006, expect IBM to continue market leadership in the web services application development space, even as competitive pressures from companies such as BEA, Jboss, and Microsoft remain strong. Not much of a prediction, to be sure, and not one that goes out on any sort of limb. But who cares about predictions? The day-to-day reality of app development is that there is no time for naval gazing or facile prognostication. There is work to be done!