InformationWeek Announces the InformationWeek 500 for 2002Most Innovative IT Organizations Are Redefining Business Processes and Making Better Use of Existing TechnologiesPRNewswire CMP Media LLC's InformationWeek today announced the InformationWeek 500, a prestigious listing of the largest and most innovative users of information technology. The ranking includes household names such as Daimler Chrysler, Hershey Foods and Kmart, as well as HIP Health Plans of NY, which ranked No. 1. For 14 years, the InformationWeek 500 has tracked businesses' IT agendas, providing a unique opportunity to understand and examine their business practices across core areas of operations. The typical InformationWeek 500 company projects annual revenue of $9.4 billion in 2002, of which 3.39% will be invested in information technology, an average of nearly $320 million. The lower budget percentage, coupled with steeper spending cuts, saw a 34% decline in IT spending compared to last year when InformationWeek 500 companies spent an average of $484 million on IT. Looking back to 2000, the percentage of annual sales revenue dedicated to IT spending is down only slightly. However, because of sharp revenue drops, overall IT investment by InformationWeek 500 companies is off significantly. "As corporate America experienced a downturn in the past 18 months, America's largest and most innovative businesses scaled back IT spending and made do with less," said Rusty Weston, editor of InformationWeek Research. "However, the findings of the 2002 InformationWeek 500 illustrates that improving the quality of existing technologies and redefining business processes are essential to an organization's success." The InformationWeek 500 survey revealed that for the first time in three years the top 500 technology users are spending more money maintaining old applications rather than building new ones. Many companies on this year's list are employing multiple forms of business intelligence and knowledge management strategies to exploit corporate data and advance customer and business partner service. "What defines the leaders in the InformationWeek 500 is an intense focus on customers, a desire to collaborate, and a drive to improve employee productivity," said Stephanie Stahl, editor of InformationWeek. "HIP Health Plans of NY uses information technology to improve the efficiencies of its business, and that of its customers, which is what helped it earn the top spot on this year's listing." The InformationWeek 500 is the most detailed source of industry-specific IT budget data. The research project gathered in-depth information directly from companies about how they approach and prioritize their IT investments. The research identified and ranked the companies after an extensive phone, fax, and online study. For a full report of the InformationWeek 500 findings and to benchmark your company against its peers on this list, check out http://www.informationweekresearch.com/02IW500. About InformationWeek InformationWeek helps more than 440,000 Business Technology Executives who buy, build and manage technology drive business innovation powered by technology. In addition to the weekly magazine, InformationWeek provides a platform of information solutions including http://www.informationweek.com/, InformationWeek Research, InformationWeek Events, which includes the InformationWeek Conference for Business Technology Executives and the InformationWeek Daily, an e-mail news service. In November 2001, the leading IT media brand launched Optimize, an InformationWeek Resource for Business Technology Executives. In 2002, InformationWeek was consistently recognized for its commitment to excellence and innovation, receiving several of the industry's top media accolades including top spots in Technology Marketing's Influencers Report, the #1 ranking on Folio's annual list of top trade titles, as well as ASBPE's National Gold Awards for Best Series and Best Web Series. About CMP Media LLC CMP Media LLC (http://www.cmp.com/) is a leading integrated media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum-the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, and research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, and custom publishing. SOURCE: InformationWeek CONTACT: Tricia Hoban of Peppercom, +1-212-931-6171, Web site: http://www.informationweek.com/ |