Lockheed Martin has been named to CMP Media LLC's InformationWeek 500, a prestigious listing of the most innovative users of information technology in the United States.

For 15 years, the InformationWeek 500 has tracked organizations' IT agendas, providing a unique opportunity to understand and examine their business practices across core areas of operations. Companies named to this list demonstrate a pattern of technological, procedural, and organization innovation. Lockheed Martin was ranked No. 47. General Motors, FedEx, and Harley-Davidson, as well as Owens & Minor, which is ranked No. 1, are some of the household names that made this year's list.

Economic conditions are showing signs of improvement at America's most innovative companies. Revenue across the InformationWeek 500 rose from $9.4 billion in 2002 to $9.6 billion in 2003. And despite lackluster business conditions in many sectors of the economy, the compound annual growth rate of the InformationWeek 500 is at 4.6% for the past seven years.

"America's most innovative companies are also devoting more dollars to technology initiatives this year. On average, the InformationWeek 500 will invest 3.7% of their annual revenue on technology for an average cash layout of $353 million in 2003," said Rusty Weston, editor of InformationWeek Research. "This marks an upswing in technology investment compared to a year ago when the typical InformationWeek 500 company spent $320 million on IT."

IT dollars are used primarily to develop, foster, and improve processes that promote information-sharing across and beyond the enterprise. Regulatory compliance is also prompting new IT spending in many sectors tracked by InformationWeek. Web-based architecture, productivity-centric tools and products, and IT infrastructure that promotes real-time data transmissions are among the key technology initiatives sought by this year's InformationWeek 500.

"It is an honor to be recognized as an innovative IT leader," says Lockheed Martin Chief Information Officer Joe Cleveland. "We continually strive to provide the right information, at the right time, to the right people, presented in the right way and, at the right cost. Given the business climate of doing more with less, organizations that focus on innovative ways to deliver customer-valued solutions will be successful in the future. At Lockheed Martin we strive to deliver IT solutions that are affecting our customers' business processes while helping them achieve their objectives."

"The InformationWeek 500 are a major force in the U.S. economy," said Stephanie Stahl, editor of InformationWeek. "Collectively, this year's 500 businesses will spend nearly $177 billion on technology tools, products, and services. We expect this commitment to continue into 2004 when we estimate that the InformationWeek 500 will spend $185 billion to establish and move technology initiatives forward."

The InformationWeek 500 is the most detailed source of industry-specific IT budget data. The research project gathered in-depth information directly from companies about how they approach and prioritize their IT investments. The research identified and ranked the companies following an extensive online and phone study.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin (www.lockheedmartin.com) employs about 125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2002 sales of $26.6 billion.

About InformationWeek

InformationWeek helps more than 440,000 business-technology professionals who buy, build, and manage technology drive business innovation powered by technology. In addition to the weekly magazine, InformationWeek provides a platform of information solutions, including InformationWeek.com; InformationWeek Research; InformationWeek Events, which includes the InformationWeek Conference for business-technology executives; and the InformationWeek Daily, an E-mail news service. In May 2003, in conjunction with Optimize, InformationWeek launched its Media Network. The Media Network consists of Optimize, Government Enterprise, and Healthcare Enterprise, as well as its Vertical Industry Network publications, Bank Systems and Technology, Insurance and Technology, and Wall Street and Technology. InformationWeek is consistently recognized for its commitment to excellence and innovation, receiving several of the industry's top media accolades, including top spots in Technology Marketing's Influencers Report, BtoB Magazine's annual Media Power 50, as well as awards from ASBPE.

About CMP Media LLC

CMP Media LLC (www.cmp.com) is a leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum--the builders, sellers, and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet marketers' individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct-marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, custom publishing, testing, and consulting.

For the complete listing: http://www.informationweek.com/956/rank01.jhtml

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin