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The Baseline 500

It is not easy staying at the top of the Baseline 500. Just ask the 159 companies that dropped off the 2004 ranking. But the majority managed to hold on, and the newcomers demonstrated that they, too, are among the all-stars of the IT world.

Here are the 500 best information managers, culled from a database of 2,324 publicly traded companies with sales of $100 million or more.

Click on the links below to have a look at the winners listed by name, size or industry. Then check out the related stories listed at the right, to find out more about what the top 500 did to make the returns on their technology so stellar.

Story Guide:

  • The Baseline 500
  • The Baseline 500 Top 20
  • For Great IT, Focus on the Information, Not the Technology
  • Five Steps to Make Your Productivity Soar
  • Figure Out Where You Would Rank

    Profiles: Lessons from Five Leaders in the 500

  • Simplicity Pays: Cathy Tompkins keeps the information systems behind Chesapeake Energy’s growing business as simple as possible.
  • Continuity Counts:David Johns of Owens Corning has navigated the company’s Chapter 11 filing by keeping focus on key projects.
  • Here’s the Beef: Sonic’s Mitchell Gregory is sandwiched between market research and technology, but remains all business.
  • Little Things Add Up-Big: Amazon.com’s Werner Vogels believes that if a project team can eat more than two pizzas, it’s too large.
  • Measuring Up: Wilmington Trust’s Mike Chandler makes decisions by looking at staffing levels, spending metrics and what’s best for the bank.

    Or Download the PDF:

    Listed By Company NameListed By SizeListed By Industry
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    Growing Your Productivity
    The Baseline 500 quantifies not how well information systems work, but how well corporations manage information. The companies that thrive in the information age keep costs low, focus on the business first and motivate their teams.

    Industry Leaders
    Energy companies made the strongest showing, but food and beverage, financial services and manufacturing also did well.
    View the PDF — Turn off pop-up blockers!

    Leaders Ranked by Revenue
    Does size matter? Not when it comes to Information Productivity, which is the great equalizer among companies with sales between $10 million and $10 billion. This year, the small fries were the most productive.
    View the PDF — Turn off pop-up blockers!

    Lean & Mean in 5 Steps
    Your company isn’t in the Baseline 500 and your boss wants to know why. Or maybe you need to improve. Paul Strassmann, who created the metrics that rank information managers, outlines five steps to boost your productivity.

    Do It Yourself!
    Here are the steps and the financial data you’ll need to calculate the Information Productivity of your company.

    Bottom of the Barrel
    A look at how five companies made it to the bottom of the Information Productivity rankings.
    View the PDF — Turn off pop-up blockers!

    		 People Powered
    Your most important information system is your people.

    Profile: Cathy Tompkins,
    CIO, Chesapeake Energy
    Tompkins keeps the information systems behind the company’s growing business simple.

    Profile: David Johns,
    CIO, Owens Corning
    Johns has navigated the company’s Chapter 11 filing by keeping focus on key projects.

    Profile: Mitchell Gregory,
    CIO, Sonic
    Gregory is sandwiched between market research and technology, but remains all business.

    Profile: Werner Vogels,
    CTO, Amazon.com
    Vogels believes that if a project team can eat more than two pizzas, it is too large.

    Profile: Mike Chandler,
    CIO, Wilmington Trust
    Chandler measures up by focusing on staffing levels, spending metrics and what’s best for the bank.

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