Bridging the Gap between Research and Business in Software Maintenance

This welcoming address to the 21st ICSM describes the widening gap between the research world on the one side and the business world on the other. This gap is reflected by the attendance and the publications of the ICSM. The author, who has been involved in both worlds over the past 25 years, offers some suggestions as to how this gap might be bridged, but comes to the conclusion that the gap will always exist due the different goals on both sides.