I know it’s a little late for a New Year’s posting, but one of my resolutions for 2010 wasn’t to be more active on the blog, so I’m disappointing nobody! However, it is time to start musing for the new decade.

A few days into the year I was asked by a friend – not in the mobile or technology industry – what my opinion was going to be of business in 2010, up, down, or flat. This was in line with a couple of earlier conversations we’d had about the state of employment, layoffs, and other business related challenges in 2009. I replied – optimistically perhaps – that I think the challenge of the year wasn’t going to be an absence of revenue opportunities, but rather working out ways to deliver on all the projects that we were likely to get.

And I have to say that four weeks later I’m still feeling the same way. We’ve had a big upswing in inquiries, proposal requests, and a resulting pressure on our engineering resources to deliver in time. So needless to say we’re looking at expansion, and to quote one tangible barometer of the business world in mobile, placing a job advertisement on Seek.com.au has resulted in more applications than I’ve seen since around 2005.  Given that 12-18 months ago we were desperately seeking engineering resources this is somewhat a relief, as on first glance many of the applications are of high quality.

I chatted with some friends for their opinion with contrasting results; one said that the increase in application rates are because people are now feeling more confident in their employment prospects than they may have been last year, preferring to stay in their current jobs for security. On the other hand, it was also pointed out to me that this could simply be evidence of the number of unemployed, talented professionals from 2009’s fallout.

Either way, 2010 is going to be a challenging year, with a lot of water needing to flow under the bridge before I decide that my sense of optimism is well-founded. I’m already travelling, spending 10 days in Singapore and Hong Kong (where I am now, working with our new partners at the Catalist Group), then back home for a week before heading to South Asia again and then Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress.

And, while not a formal resolution, I’m optimistic that I will post more regularly along the way. Happy 2010, everyone!