Results of 24th Annual InformationWeek 500 Honoring Nation's Most Innovative Users of Business Technology Announced

DANA POINT, Calif., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- InformationWeek released its annual InformationWeek 500 honoring the most innovative U.S.-based users of business technology. The rankings and research results were announced Tuesday evening during the annual InformationWeek 500 Conference held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, California. For complete coverage of the 2012 InformationWeek 500, visit: www.informationweek.com/500.

The top ten companies in the 2012 rankings are:

1. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
2. Deere & Co.
3. Zynga Inc.
4. Vail Resorts Inc.
5. E. & J. Gallo Winery
6. Quintiles
7. Cigna Corp.
8. UPS Inc.
9. Dow Chemical Co.
10. Lowe's Companies Inc.

"For 24 years, the InformationWeek 500 has honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek VP and Editor In Chief Rob Preston.  "Many of this year's top companies are turning the IT status quo on its ear. They're embracing new technologies and technology approaches, even new IT-powered business models, to drive revenue and profitability. Their results speak for themselves."  

Research findings show technology executives are more focused on new IT-led products and services for customers.

• 37% have widespread deployment of customer apps, compared with 25% for employees
• 85% use cloud software; with many using it to offer new products to customers
• With big data analytics, the disruptive impact has barely begun.  Three-quarters are using social networking tools for external collaboration.  However, more telling is how IT is using analytics.  For example, number one InformationWeek 500 company Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center allows clinicians to search BIDMC's 200 million data points on 2.2 million patients, and the answer comes back in three seconds.

The true innovators realize the rules for IT have changed. And a growing number are even rewriting the rulebook to acknowledge the change: One third of CIOs now have formal responsibility for innovation in their company—more than double the 16% who did in 2009.

"Where companies once most needed internal tech support, they now need tech embedded in products and in front of their customers," said Chris Murphy, Editor of InformationWeek. "We're seeing the leaders in the InformationWeek 500 changing their IT organizations to play by these new rules and embrace this customer-facing role."

The 2012 InformationWeek 500 Conference featured presentations from leading technology visionaries as well as CIOs who broke the old IT rules to deliver better results for their businesses:

• Union Pacific CIO Lynden Tennison explained how the railroad company used game-like virtual simulation technology to improve training for workers in the field, cut fuel and training costs, and reduce safety incidents. The technology came from a startup company that Union Pacific later acquired. Allstate's Matt Manzella, Director of Technology Innovation, shared a look at his team's Innovation Lab, which uses crowd-sourced employee ideas to improve business processes. Quintiles CIO Richard Thomas explained how the company created a platform to help companies such as Eli Lilly narrow the selection process among compounds being considered for new medicines.
• Procter & Gamble Group President and CIO Filippo Passerini explored how the consumer products giant came up with decision cockpits. This decision-support environment, now used by more than 60,000 employees worldwide, helps shape product marketing and merchandising decisions, for example.
• General Motors VP and CIO Randy Mott discussed his plans to revamp GM's overall IT strategy, including flipping GM's mix from 90% of work being done by outsourcers to 90% being done in house. Mott's developer team will work in four U.S. innovation centers.
• Ford CTO and VP Paul Mascarenas detailed how Ford is transforming what it offers car buyers during the whole lifespan of a car, and becoming a software company in the process.
• Michael Lock, VP, Google Enterprise, and Clay Bavor, Head of Product Management, Google Enterprise, discussed Google's vision for enterprise customers. "The products come to life as consumer products but…we know we want to bring them to the enterprise and make them sing," Bavor told the audience. Lock described his intent to build a $10 billion business inside of Google around Google Enterprise. Collaboration tools will be the key ingredient that will distinguish Google's enterprise products, Bavor said.

More than 275 of the nation's top business technology executives attended the annual InformationWeek 500 Conference – a "who's who" in technology purchasing power – including IT leaders of Allstate Insurance Company, Amgen Inc., Boeing, CUNA Mutual Group, Dow Chemical Co., Lowe's Companies Inc., Movado Group Inc., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and UPS Inc. 

This year's InformationWeek 500 Conference was sponsored by:  HCL Technologies, Dell, Riverbed, VMware, IBM, Microsoft, Rimini Street Inc., T-Systems, Vidyo Inc., Information Builders, and Liaison Technologies.

Highlights from the live conference, as well as exclusive content will be presented in a virtual environment on October 2, 2012. To register for the virtual event, please visit: http://techweb.com/iwk500ve.

To download the 2012 InformationWeek 500 research report, including exclusive profiles, research, and the full list of winners, please visit www.informationweek.com/500.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com)

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow—from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties like DarkReading.com (security), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and BYTE (consumer technology). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers, and SMBs via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb's and InformationWeek SMB, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare sites. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy—IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

For more information, contact:
Winnie Ng-Schuchman
VP of Marketing
InformationWeek Business Technology Network
wng@techweb.com

SOURCE UBM TechWeb