Ventana Research 2009 Leadership Award Winners Announced

    PLEASANTON, CA, December 17, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ventana Research announced the winners of the 2009 Leadership Awards, recognizing those organizations that have most effectively delivered business success using people, process, information and technology best practices. The Leadership Awards recognize pioneers and leaders - organizations and individuals that exemplify the understanding that the successful management of performance requires a clear vision, understanding and determination, and a team effort. These awards are designed to highlight exemplary individuals and organizations that have demonstrated business leadership.

"The Leadership Awards honor organizations of all sizes and industries from across the world that have distinguished themselves in their approach to improving their performance," said Mark Smith, CEO and EVP Research, Ventana Research. "The nominations this year were among the finest we have seen and both winners and finalists are to be congratulated for the superior work they have done to accelerate their organizations' growth and improve their competitiveness."

The awards were judged by the world-renowned research team at Ventana Research, which through its benchmark research continues to pioneer the use of information and technology to manage and improve business performance. As part of the scoring process, the judging team studied in depth the materials detailing each nominated organization's use of people, processes, information and technology, the best practices it developed and the project's business impact and value.

In additional to the top award for Overall Leadership, the Leadership Awards are awarded in 18 categories spanning from Business Performance to Operational Intelligence. The winners and their associated software suppliers are:

Overall Performance Management Leadership Award:
• BSH EV Aletleri Sanayi VE Ticaret A.S. using Protema and QPR Software

Overall Business Performance Leadership Award:
• Datron World Communications, using ActiveStrategy

Financial Performance Leadership Award:
• Welch Foods, using Longview Solutions

Workforce Performance Leadership Award:
• City & County of Denver, using Kronos

Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Leadership Award:
• City of Dallas, using Actuate

Overall Operational Performance Leadership Award:
• Linksys by Cisco, using Symphony Metreo

Customer Performance Leadership Award:
• University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), using iStrategy Solutions

Contact Center Leadership Award:
• American Century Investments, using Aspect Software

Sales Performance Leadership Award:
• McKesson Provider Technologies, using Synygy

Marketing Performance Leadership Award:
• Centro, using Pentaho

Supply Chain Performance Leadership Award:
• Welch Foods, using Oco

Overall Information Technology Leadership Award:
• Insurance.com, using IBM Cognos

Analytics Leadership Award:
• Nu Skin Enterprises, using IBM SPSS

Business Intelligence (BI) Leadership Award:
• Nationwide Insurance, using Teradata

Location Intelligence (LI) Leadership Award
• BECU, using Pitney Bowes MapInfo

Operational Intelligence (OI) Leadership Award:
• Legal & General Retail Savings, using eg Solutions

Information Management Leadership Award:
• Smith & Nephew, using Informatica

Information Applications Leadership Award:
• Nationwide Insurance, using Teradata

To learn more about these Ventana Research Leadership Awards and listen to the 2009 Leadership Awards announcement webinar, please visit http://www.ventanaresearch.com/awards.

About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. We provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance - to become not only more efficient but more effective. Our unparalleled insights and best practices guidance are based on our rigorous research-based benchmarking indexes of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions worldwide. The combination we offer of benchmark research, rigorous market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver business and technology education and expertise to our clients where and when needed. The Ventana Research Indexes - the Value Index and the Benchmark Index family - have redefined the research industry by providing accessible, easy-to-use research-based business and technology guidance to businesses.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst coverage in the industry; more than 2.5 million business and IT professionals through our community of 85,000 professionals and network of media and association partners around the world benefit from Ventana Research's insights. We focus on business and technology trends and best practices that maximize organizations' potential to perform while reducing the time, cost and risk and still achieve optimal outcomes.

Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso (925) 474-0060 [email protected]

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