Editor's Note: Ideas Are Similar, Execution Isn'tEditor's Note: Ideas Are Similar, Execution Isn't

Put a handful of CEOs from a diverse group of leading companies together and what do you get? Very similar levels of excitement, questions, and concerns about the state of business technology and its future--integration problems abound, tools aren't simple enough, serving customers better is the top priority, creating a real-time business is essential, and there are many miles to go before we get the full value out of business technology.

That's a sampling of the things discussed during a roundtable with CEOs of Accenture, Best Buy, Flextronics, Premera Blue Cross, and Siemens USA, and attended by information senior editor-at-large John Foley at Microsoft's annual CEO Summit. Of course, while many of the CEOs' views and visions of how technology can help them drive business innovation are similar, we also know that creating a real-time environment for an insurance company is different from doing that for a retail business or a logistics service provider. We investigate the needs and best practices of innovative companies in vertical markets throughout the year and even more deeply in our annual information 500 report each fall, but I'm excited to tell you that we're enhancing our coverage in new, powerful ways with the creation of the information Vertical Industry Network.

The network consists of Bank Systems & Technology, Insurance & Technology, and Wall Street & Technology--all leading media brands that have enormous expertise. It also includes Government Enterprise, a quarterly supplement launched last spring, and Healthcare Enterprise, which we'll launch in the fall. Our growing portfolio will enable us to offer readers, Web visitors, and event attendees more examples of business innovation powered by technology. For more, check out wstonline.com, insurancetech.com, banktech.com, and governmententerprise.com.

Stephanie Stahl
Editor
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