Distributed Computing
I've watched computing move from client-centric to client-server to "3-tier client-server" to n-tier computing. All of this has been, I believe, part of a single move, the move toward distributed computing. This drives a tendency, when I design software solutions, toward moving the elements of a an application to the appropriate location. Web services are certainly the latest element in this and I'm very excited to be using xml-rpc and SOAP in several projects.

Platform Independence
Much of this comes into conversations as "cross-platform" development. But really, I see the value as much higher when we view it as developing software that has value and a life-cycle without regard for the platform it runs on. As the devices that applications run on continues to proliferate, from desktop computers to handheld, cellular and "hiptop" devices, it becomes less and less wise to write software that is tied for it's usefulness to just one computer.

Open Standards

Communications Focus