Editor's Note: Innovation Moving To Forefront AgainEditor's Note: Innovation Moving To Forefront Again

Despite these times of tight budgets, controversy over offshore outsourcing and the IT job market in the United States, silly claims about whether IT matters, and who the heck the next governor of California will be, it seems that we're on the brink of something extraordinary in the world of business technology. I don't necessarily mean one of those eureka moments where the next killer app or piece of hardware emerges from an R&D lab and everyone climbs over each other to get their hands on it kinds of breakthroughs. But, rather, more impressive increases in productivity, collaboration, business-process optimization, and growing beliefs that it's time to return to growth.

My feelings have been fueled by optimistic bits of information I'm hearing in many corners of the market--whether it was the insightful business technologist in the financial-services market who said, "I still marvel at how powerful technology is today and how far we have to go." Or the CEO of an IT-services firm who told me that his employees are more excited than ever about getting out of bed and going to work, or the megainvestment Microsoft is making in R&D. It seems as though people are getting excited all over again about the unlimited possibilities that technology has to offer businesses.

As we get thick into our annual information 500 ranking of the most innovative users of technology (coming Sept. 22), we'll get many reminders of the excitement, the possibilities, and the value that technology brings to business. Want to learn more about the information 500? Please visit information.com/iw500/2003/entry.jhtml. If you have specific questions, please write to us at [email protected].

Stephanie Stahl
Editor
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