Last year was one many in the information technology (IT) industry would rather forget.
After a period of massive investment, many companies stopped spending and the much-vaunted technology bubble burst.
As the year progressed, dot.com became an increasingly dirty term and "difficult trading" and "limited visibility of future business opportunities" entered into the industry's lexicon of useful words and phrases.
IT security companies were among the few to benefit from the industry's new-found negativity, as companies rushed to secure existing data against digital attacks from viruses such as the Code Red worm.
Security technologies, ranging from biometric identification systems to disaster recovery services, were even more in demand after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and interest in IT security was very much in evidence at November's symposium, held jointly by Sussex University and the Sussex Innovation Centre.
However, while the computer industry remained in the doldrums for the rest of the year, it is important to remember the important role internet technologies played in the aftermath of the attacks, as people around the world surfed the web for the latest news of the attacks and sent emails to check on friends and family.
As revellers heralded the beginning of 2002 with a massive surge of text messages, IT businesses were hoping this year would be more profitable.
The arrival of the euro might help some IT companies in the short-term by providing UK companies with an excuse to switch to new systems. Even though a decision has yet to be made about replacing our national currency, UK companies' applications and systems will need to be made euro-compliant.
Otherwise we could see more embarrassing situations like when teenager Richard Shields ended up with more than £130 worth of designer goods at a branch of Debenhams by exchanging £10 of his pocket money for 15 euros.
Many IT analysts are predicting an industry recovery by the end of the second quarter. This confidence is reflected in figures for February's Milia 2002 trade show in Cannes - the world's most important interactive media event.
Wired Sussex is taking a number of South-East digital media companies to this year's show and chartering a yacht for the occasion. If a visit to the South of France can't make you optimistic about the year ahead, I suspect nothing Cannes. Happy New Year.
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