We InformationWeek reporters are asked to cover a lot of ground, each with several beats that we track. Keeping current on so many fronts presents quite a challenge, and we typically have to work in a sort of ad hoc rotation, cycling from one technology or vertical market to the next, hoping that we don't miss anything big on one beat while covering another. With that in mind, I thought I'd try to offer some quick takes on what I expect to see on the CRM, E-commerce, storage, and travel fronts during 2006.

CRM
Salesforce.com's outage Tuesday notwithstanding, look for a lot more momentum behind the on-demand model for delivering CRM, and other types of software, in 2006. On-demand has proven itself to be an option whose time had come. Big companies are looking to make their IT costs more predictable, and simplify things as much as possible for their users. Smaller companies are looking for affordable ways to get their hands on the software needed to automate their increasingly complex businesses.

Check, and check: on-demand satisfies both sets of needs. Yes, the functionality is typically scaled down; yes, you're typically subject to the vendor's upgrade schedule; yes, integration with all your other systems can be a tricky affair; and yes, issues can pop up around availability and security. What, like those same issues don't exist in the world of on-premises software?

E-COMMERCE
Despite all the stories proclaiming this Christmas season to be a roaring success, E-commerce will continue to be held back by fear of identity theft, as companies reveal data breaches, phishers chip away at consumers' online confidence, and Washington bumbles around the issue, voting on legislation that only addresses tiny pieces of the problem. This will give online retailers more time to figure out what actually works in online commerce.

Hint: storing credit card numbers, loading sites with video and unwanted music, forgetting key buttons, and failing to clearly state shipping and return policies are not recipes for success.

STORAGE
This is a beat I only recently picked up, but in the weeks I've been covering it, my keen news sense has managed to pick up on this breaking news flash: There's an awful lot of data out there, and companies are struggling with what do with it all. As the mountain of data grows larger, IT execs are forced to either make additional investments in storage technology or stuff information in every nook and cranny they can find on their networks.

It's coming from everywhere. The volume of customer data being stored is on a steep upward curve; E-mail inboxes are more stuffed than ever, often with byte-hogging attachments still in tow; and decades of paper documentation are being captured and stored electronically. Amid this chaos, auditors will remind companies just how far they are from truly satifying the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley.

TRAVEL/HOSPITALITY
A lot of things figure to move forward on this front in 2006:

-The way travel services are distributed online could change greatly as airlines rely less on the big systems travel agents depend on (and with whom the airlines distribution contracts are expiring) and instead lean more heavily on their own Web sites, not just to sell their own product, but to offer packages with hotels and car rentals. (That sound you don't hear is the collective breath-holding of the Expedias and Travelocitys of the world, which stand to be big losers if this direct-sales strategy works.)

-Airlines will begin letting passengers use their cell phones during flights, opening the door to a cacaphony at 35,000 feet, and raising the possibilities for air rage as inconsiderate passengers drive their cabin-mates looney.

-Airport concourses will increasingly resemble stock market trading floors more than the social scene they once were, as more ubiquitous wireless access spurs waiting passengers to get even more lost in their little worlds of cell phone calls, mobile E-mail access, and last-minute tasks on laptops. (Hey, buddy, can you keep it down? I'm trying to work here!)

-More hotels will roll out kiosks so that we don't have to talk to anyone when we arrive at our destination, in-room TVs will start evolving into our window into everything a hotel has to offer, and more dependable in-room high-speed Internet access will ensure that we see even less of the places we travel to.

Now if only rental cars had hot-spots and could drive themselves, then we'd never have to stop working again. It's enough to make me hope that next Christmas never arrives. Which brings me to my unthinkable New Year's wish: that all the technological innovation would stop for one year and allow us all to catch up. Or catch or breath. Alas, we're more likely to catch the avian flu.

So buckle up, take a deep breath, and get ready for 2006. It's going to be a wild ride.