InformationWeek 500 Announces Its List for 2006

Record Breaking Attendance at Annual Event; Top 10 Receive Accolades

PRNewswire-FirstCall
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.
Sep 12, 2006

CMP Technology's InformationWeek 500 annual gala event showcased the top 500 most compelling and provocative companies embracing and driving change today. The top ten were announced and awarded special honors at the event last night. The complete list of 500 will appear in InformationWeek magazine and on its Web site, http://www.informationweek.com/500/06/.

This year's InformationWeek 500 companies are focused on streamlining business processes, improving customer relationships, controlling costs and globalization. Collectively, they represent approximately $150 billion in annual IT spending, and they plan on spending more than a third of that on salaries and benefits in 2006. The average InformationWeek 500 company allocates 3.2 percent of annual revenue to IT, up slightly from 3.0 percent in 2005, but still lower than in past years.

The number one company, Principal Financial Group, jumped from number 24 on last year's list. The top 10, in order, are Principal Financial Group Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., American Power Conversion Corp., Global Crossing Ltd., International Truck and Engine Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Marriott International Inc., Xcel Energy Inc., JM Family Enterprises Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

"The InformationWeek 500, by definition, is a collection of the most innovative users of technology," said InformationWeek publishing director, Fritz Nelson. "These companies are harnessing technology to improve efficiency and, in turn, productivity. We applaud this year's list makers whose CIOs and business technology executives have taken risks with technology and have become leaders and visionaries in their fields."

In addition, these top companies were awarded special honors in six individual categories:

  *  The most effective use of emerging technology: Automatic Data
     Processing, Inc.

  *  The most innovative supply chain applications: Sun Microsystems Inc.

  *  The most innovative example of customer intimacy: FedEx Corp.

  *  The best contributions to productivity: Constellation Energy
     Group, Inc.

  *  The most innovative use of wireless technologies: MassMutual Financial

  *  The most effective use of information security policies: Cigna Corp.

The InformationWeek 500 conference had record breaking attendance this year. Over 300 CIOs and business technology executives attended the event which celebrated innovation with three days of workshops, networking and discussion. Unlike most technology-oriented shows, attendees get a unique opportunity to speak to and learn from some of the most successful IT executives, editors and influencers in the industry in an intimate setting. At this year's event, Hewlett Packard's CEO Mark Hurd and CIO Randy Mott discussed "The Reinvention of Hewlett-Packard -- An Innovation Narrative," Tom Peters gave the keynote, "Building an Innovation Machine" and executives from General Motors, HP and Yahoo led fascinating discussion roundtables.

For nearly 20 years the InformationWeek 500 has identified and honored the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual list drawing interest among a broad range of industries.

About InformationWeek

InformationWeek sets the agenda for business technology executives, covering the full range of information access points IT decision-makers use today. A trusted, authoritative source and information filter, InformationWeek helps community members understand and focus on what's important up-to-the-minute -- in print, online, through independent research and at live, peer-to-peer events. Through its cross-media platform, InformationWeek delivers content to complement the print publication to its community of business technology leaders when and how they want it, 24/7. The InformationWeek community includes an audience of 2.5 million CIOs, IT executives and business managers who cut across industries, job titles, company sizes and global borders.

InformationWeek is consistently recognized for its commitment to excellence and thought leadership by the IT community, receiving many of the industry's top media accolades, including several awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), top spots in BtoB Magazine's Media Power 50 and Circulation Excellence Awards from Circulation Management Magazine.

About CMP Technology

CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion.

  Press Contact:
  Jennifer Cincu
  Articulate Communications Inc.
  212.255.0080, ext. 33
  jcincu@articulatepr.com

SOURCE: InformationWeek

CONTACT: Jennifer Cincu, Articulate Communications Inc.,
+1-212-255-0080, ext. 33, jcincu@articulatepr.com

Web site: http://www.informationweek.com/500/06
http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/

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