Top 10 IT Innovators: InformationWeek 500
What does it take to be among the United States' most innovative users of business technology? Here are the CIOs of the top 10 companies in the <em>InformationWeek 500</em>, along with a look at the companies and some insights on key projects and strategies.
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InformationWeek's annual ranking, now in its 23nd year, spotlights companies across industries using technology ranging from wireless to social media to drive business results.
PACCAR is this year's No. 1 company. In the face of a recession, the heavy truck builder made a bet on in-vehicle electronics that could give drivers and dispatchers more information. The IT organization, led by CIO Kyle Quinn, helped set the vision that top executives at the company embraced. IT pushed ahead despite the downturn and staff cuts, building new startup partnerships to get the wireless and mobile app expertise needed to execute.
The No. 2 company, Levi Strauss, has moved aggressively into social media. Today it has 6.2 million followers on its Facebook page, which gets more than 1 million visits a month. Levi also has created its own global online community for young women, boosting brand awareness and engagement.
No. 3 Waste Management created a price-optimization system that models the factors that drive market prices and price sensitivity in the 25 regions in which the trash-handling and recycling company does business, helping managers decide what price to quote a customer. No. 4 on the list, pharmaceutical services provider Quintiles, has developed cloud computing services that turn IT into a revenue driver for the company. Fifth on this year's list, Catalina Marketing, is on the cutting edge of using big data, real-time analytics.
And that's just the top five. Want more? Here's a look at key insights about the top 10 InformationWeek 500 companies and their tech leaders.
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Bellevue, Wash.
Key Strategy: To develop an on-board network to collect data from sensors to warn of performance problems, a navigation system crafted to meet the needs of truckers, and wireless links to send that data back to dispatchers so they have real-time information on a truck's location and performance.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Kyle Quinn, VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): $10,293
Industry: Automotive
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
San Francisco, Calif.
Key Strategy: Levi Strauss is using social media to redefine how the company relates to its customers. It was the first major retailer to add Facebook's "Like" button to its commerce site and also created the first Facebook-oriented social shopping experience, where customers can share "Likes" and purchases through their Facebook networks.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Tom Peck, Sr. VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): $4,411
Industry: Consumer Goods
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Houston, Texas
Key Strategy: Waste Management created a price-optimization system that uses statistical models of the factors that drive market prices in each of its 25 regions, giving pricing managers the data they need to better negotiate with customers and provide insight into whether to raise prices or not.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Puneet Bhasin, Sr. VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): $12,515
Industry: Logistics & Transportation
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Durham, N.C.
Key Strategy: Quintiles launched Infosario to help drug makers safely get new drugs to market by providing a suite of systems to manage pharmaceutical processes, do analytics, and store and manage data.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Richard Thomas, CIO
Revenue (in millions): Not available
Industry: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Key Strategy: Catalina Marketing uses in-database processing to more quickly analyze the massive amount of data it has on shoppers, producing within seconds predictive models that used to take hours. That has helped increase coupon redemption rates from around 1% to as high as 25% in some cases.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Eric Williams, Exec. VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): Not available
Industry: Consulting & Business Services
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
New York, N.Y.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Lorraine Cichowski, Sr. VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): Not available
Industry: Media & Entertainment
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Roseland, N.J.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Michael L. Capone, CIO
Revenue (in millions): $9,900
Industry: Consulting & Business Services
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Cincinnati, Ohio
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Filippo Passerini, Group President, Global Business Services & CIO
Revenue (in millions): $82,559
Industry: Consumer Goods
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Deerfield, Ill.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: S. David Bent, Sr. VP of eBusiness Services & Corp. CIO
Revenue (in millions): $4,832
Industry: Distribution
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Broomfield, Colo.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Robert N. Urwiler, Exec. VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): $869
Industry: Hospitality & Travel
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
Broomfield, Colo.
Highest-Ranking IT Officer: Robert N. Urwiler, Exec. VP & CIO
Revenue (in millions): $869
Industry: Hospitality & Travel
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
InformationWeek's annual ranking, now in its 23nd year, spotlights companies across industries using technology ranging from wireless to social media to drive business results.
PACCAR is this year's No. 1 company. In the face of a recession, the heavy truck builder made a bet on in-vehicle electronics that could give drivers and dispatchers more information. The IT organization, led by CIO Kyle Quinn, helped set the vision that top executives at the company embraced. IT pushed ahead despite the downturn and staff cuts, building new startup partnerships to get the wireless and mobile app expertise needed to execute.
The No. 2 company, Levi Strauss, has moved aggressively into social media. Today it has 6.2 million followers on its Facebook page, which gets more than 1 million visits a month. Levi also has created its own global online community for young women, boosting brand awareness and engagement.
No. 3 Waste Management created a price-optimization system that models the factors that drive market prices and price sensitivity in the 25 regions in which the trash-handling and recycling company does business, helping managers decide what price to quote a customer. No. 4 on the list, pharmaceutical services provider Quintiles, has developed cloud computing services that turn IT into a revenue driver for the company. Fifth on this year's list, Catalina Marketing, is on the cutting edge of using big data, real-time analytics.
And that's just the top five. Want more? Here's a look at key insights about the top 10 InformationWeek 500 companies and their tech leaders.
Go to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 homepage
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