2007 CIO 100 Application
What We're Looking For
The 20th annual CIO 100 Awards will celebrate 100 organizations (and the people within them) that are using information technology in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers.
Perhaps you took a risk on an emerging technology, or deployed the tried and true in a new way. Maybe you built a better business process, or fostered closer collaboration. Or you found ways to get more from existing customers, to pursue new markets, to save money, to make more. Here's your chance to tell your peers about the technology innovations that have enabled or led the way to greater success for your organization.
To be selected, applicants must show not only that they have executed their project well, but that they have done so in uncommon, innovative ways: pioneering a new technology, applying a familiar technology to a new purpose, setting the bar higher for their competitors. And they must demonstrate business value beyond a mere positive ROI, to show how the project changed the way they do business (whether internally or externally) or repositioned them competitively.
What's In It For You
A CIO 100 award is an acknowledged mark of enterprise excellence. In a survey by PR Week magazine, CEOs named the CIO 100 among the top 10 most influential corporate scorecards anywhere, compiled by any publication or organization. Because the award is given to companies rather than individuals, it's an honor everyone on your staff can take pride in. Executives from honored companies will be recognized among their peers and colleagues at the CIO 100 Symposium and Awards ceremony, to be held at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., Aug. 19-21, 2007.
How We Judge the CIO 100 Award
The year's CIO 100 honorees will be chosen by the CIO editorial team based on information submitted in this online application. Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to review any additional materials. Entrants are encouraged to include any information about their project or initiative that they would like the judges to consider in their answers to the questions on the application.
Each entry will be judged based on how it compares to all other entries submitted. Honorees are not ranked.
Criteria
CIO 100 Award recipients will be selected by the CIO editorial team according to the following criteria:
Primary Criteria
To be selected for a CIO 100 award, you must demonstrate excellence in
Innovation: The extent to which your organization used IT in a new way, or enabled new ways of doing business, whether internally or externally.
Business value: The measurable impact, backed up by supporting data, that your project or initiative has had on your organization.
Secondary Criteria
Demonstrated excellence in these areas will enhance your application compared to those of other entrants.
Collaboration:The extent to which your project fostered greater collaboration, whether internally or among your organization's partners and/or customers.
Leadership: Your, or your IT department's demonstrated technical leadership (in the use of IT), management leadership (in the execution of your project or initiative) or market leadership (in its impact on your organization's position within its industry).
Judging Process
Each application will be read by two CIO editors, who will rate the application on a scale of 1 to 5 for each criterion. Applications that receive a total score of 26 or higher (out of a possible 40) enter a second round of scrutiny. In the second round, companies that score highest on innovation and business value (meaning they have distinguished themselves compared to other applicants) will be selected over companies with lower scores on these criteria. All scores will be kept confidential within the CIO 100 judging team. They will not be released publicly, nor will they be discussed with any individual applicants. The honorees are not ranked.
Plus One Awards
For the second year, CIO 100 Award recipients will each be eligible for an additional award, honoring outstanding achievement toward a business goal as indicated in their applications. Only one Plus One award will be made per category. A maximum of nine Plus One recipients may be selected. CIO reserves the right to combine or eliminate categories if necessary to make the awards competitive.
Winners will be judged for the Plus One awards against other winners who selected the same business goal in their application. No additional information is required beyond what is provided in the CIO 100 application, nor will supplemental materials be considered. Plus One award recipients will be announced at the CIO 100 Awards Ceremony, Aug. 21, 2007, at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.
Increase Your Chances of Winning
Applications that provide detailed answers to all questions have a better chance of winning than incomplete applications and those that merely summarize the nominated project or initiative. Therefore, we encourage entrants to obtain input into the application from as many stakeholders as possible before submitting it. If you are an IT vendor who would like to nominate a partner or customer for a CIO 100 Award, we strongly advise you to enlist the CIO or another IT manager within the organization you wish to nominate to submit the application.
In order to win a CIO 100 award, applicants must provide data and examples which support their claims of innovation and business value. For example, it is not enough to tell us that a sales support system enabled your company to increase its market share. You must also provide numbers such as your market share before and after the project, how your rank changed among your competitors or some other metrics that illustrate your claim.
How We Use Your Information
The information you provide in your CIO 100 application will be used internally by CIO for purposes of judging the awards and may be used in articles (both in print and online) or other publicity relating to the CIO 100 Awards. Application information will be used for editorial purposes only, with the exception of contact information and vendor information, which may be used to market CIO content and programs.
If you have information about your project (such as internal metrics) that you would prefer not be published, but which you would like us to consider as part of your application, please note this in the text box where the information appears, or in the case of answers to multiple choice questions, in the nearest text box.
Deadlines
We will accept applications for the 2007 CIO 100 Awards until our extended deadline of Feb. 28, 2007. Applications must be submitted online. Honorees will be notified by e-mail and in a letter in mid-May 2007, and will be included in coverage of the awards online on CIO.com and in the CIO 100 special issue published by CIO on August 15, 2007.
Download a sample application.