2013 Ventana Research Leadership Awards Recognize Business and Technology Success

SAN RAMON, CA, April 15, 2013 (Press-News.org) Ventana Research has announced the results of the 8th annual 2013 Leadership Awards. The Leadership Awards recognize organizations and supporting technology vendors that have effectively achieved superior results through using people, processes, information and technology while applying best practices within specific business and technology categories.

The awards distinguish pioneers and leaders -- both organizations and individuals that exemplify clear visionary and transformative leadership. The award recipients have demonstrated an understanding that the successful management of their processes and performance requiring a heightened level of expertise, determination and a team effort.

The Leadership Awards have become an industry tradition, with leaders and innovators identified annually by the Ventana Research team. This year's Leadership Awards will present participants with an exciting opportunity to receive their award at the Ventana Research Business Technology Leadership Summit (http://ww2.ventanaresearch.com/LeadershipSummit2013.html) on May 29th and 30th, 2013 at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, CA. Members of the press are invited to come to the Summit and learn more about the advancements of these organizations using technology.

"I am excited to be able to present the winners of the 2013 Leadership Awards during the Awards Ceremony at the Ventana Research Business Technology Leadership Summit. This industry leadership recognizes and honors companies and individuals from over 26 categories that have distinguished themselves in their approach to using technology to implement impactful change," said Mark Smith, CEO and Chief Research Officer, Ventana Research. "I would also like to congratulate them for their achievements and also to congratulate the technology vendors for their support in helping their customers find the most value from their investments."

The annual leadership awards are delivered by the Ventana Research team, which through its benchmark research, on-demand advisory and education continues to pioneer new methods for organizations to become efficient and effective in their business. As part of the scoring process and methodology, Ventana Research examined the submissions to evaluate the nominated organization's use of people, processes, information and technology, the best practices it developed, the degree of team involvement and the project's business impact and value.

In addition to the top awards for Overall Business, Operational and IT Leadership, the Leadership Awards are awarded in categories spanning from Big Data and Business Analytics to Operational Intelligence. The winners and their associated technology vendor are:

Business Leadership Awards
-Overall Business Leadership: Chris Salles at Guitar Center using Ceridian
-Chief Financial Officer: Meghan Maze at Rabobank North America using Tagetik
-Office of Finance: Chrysler using FinanceSeer
-Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC): The Fauquier Bank using Datawatch
-Human Capital Management: Dentsply using SuccessFactors a SAP Company

Business Technology Awards
-Big Data: Luminar, Entravision Unit using Hortonworks
-Business Analytics: XO Communications using IBM
-Business Collaboration: Pandora Media using Anaplan
-Cloud Computing: Bloomin Brands using Snaplogic
-Mobile Technology: Citrix using Peoplefluent
-Social Media: TELERX using IBM

Operational Leadership Awards
-Overall Operational Leader: Greg Ammons and David Crews at United Supermarkets using Kronos
-Contact Center: Overstock.com using Echopass
-Customer Excellence: KPN using Teradata and Oracle
-Marketing Excellence: International Speedway Corporation using Teradata Aprimo
-Sales Excellence: Zuora using Xactly
-Service & Supply Chain Excellence: Grainger using Stibo Systems

CIO and IT Leadership Awards
-Overall IT Leader: Scott Franzel at OFS Brands using Information Builders
-Chief Information Officer: UMass Memorial Health Care using Informatica
-Analytics: Cisco Systems using Tableau Software
-Business Intelligence (BI): Astellas Pharma, U.S. using QlikTech
-Information Optimization: Phelps County Regional Medical Center using Datawatch
-Information Management: SportScheck GmbH using Heiler
-Location Intelligence (LI): Sasktel using Actuate
-Operational Intelligence (OI): Quicken Loans using CallCopy

About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the most authoritative and respected benchmark business technology research and advisory services firm. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops and our research and advisory services, Ventana On-Demand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost and risk.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage in the industry; business and IT professionals worldwide are members of our community and benefit from Ventana Research's insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations' use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.