For 13 years, the InformationWeek 500 has tracked the IT agendas of the nation's largest and most innovative IT organizations, providing a unique opportunity to understand and examine their business practices across core areas of operations. To obtain a spot in this annual ranking, companies must demonstrate a pattern of technological, procedural, and organizational innovation. Only companies based in the United States with at least $1 billion in annual revenue may participate. The criteria used in the selection process of the InformationWeek 500 are determined by the magazine's editors.

The research entails identifying and ranking the companies after an extensive mail, phone, and fax study. Senior IT executives are surveyed on their organizational priorities and spending plans for the year ahead.

For the fourth year, InformationWeek 500 companies were awarded gold, silver, and bronze citations for their technology and business innovations. The ranking is available online at informationweek.com/855/splash.htm.

Although InformationWeek 500 companies reveal key elements of their IT and business spending plans and budgets during the research process, the data is aggregated by industry, and individual responses aren't disclosed. Aggregated data is available in this magazine and in a comprehensive report on informationweekresearch.com.

We wish to thank our partners. Harte-Hanks in Sterling Heights, Mich., supplied the list of contacts and fielded the qualifying interviews in the spring. CIC Research in San Diego supplied additional data analysis of the qualifying study and conducted a second telephone survey of 250 executives in July.

We also wish to congratulate and thank this year's InformationWeek 500 and all other companies that applied for it. Without their cooperation, it wouldn't be possible to generate in-depth research about IT innovation.

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