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How to Use This Book
The two primary sections of this
book are devoted first to the InfoTech industry as a whole
and then to the “Individual Data Listings” for
THE INFOTECH 500. If time permits, you should
begin your research in the front chapters of this book. Also,
you will find lengthy indexes in Chapter 4 and in the back
of the book.
THE INFOTECH INDUSTRY
Glossary: A short list of InfoTech industry
terms.
Chapter 1: Major Trends Affecting the InfoTech Industry.
This chapter presents an encapsulated view of the major trends
that are creating rapid changes in the InfoTech industry today.
Chapter 2: InfoTech Industry Statistics. This
chapter presents in-depth statistics ranging from an industry
overview to computer industry indicators to the growing use
of broadband and much more
Chapter 3: Important InfoTech Industry Contacts –
Addresses, Telephone Numbers and World Wide Web Sites.
This chapter covers contacts for important government agencies,
InfoTech organizations and trade groups. Included are numerous
important World Wide Web sites.
THE INFOTECH 500
Chapter 4: THE INFOTECH 500: Who They Are and How
They Were Chosen. The companies compared in this
book (the actual count is 525) were carefully selected from
the InfoTech industry, largely in the United States. 97 of
the firms are based outside the U.S. For a complete description,
see THE INFOTECH 500 indexes in this chapter.
Individual Data Listings:
Look at one of the companies in THE INFOTECH 500’s Individual
Data Listings. You’ll find the following information
fields:
Company Name:
The company profiles are in alphabetical order by company
name. If you don’t find the company you are seeking,
it may be a subsidiary or division of one of the firms covered
in this book. Try looking it up in the Index by Subsidiaries,
Brand Names and Selected Affiliations in the back of the book.
Ranks:
Industry Group Code: An NAIC code used to group companies
within like segments. (See Chapter 4 for a list of codes.)
Ranks Within This Company’s Industry Group: Ranks,
within this firm’s segment only, for annual sales and
annual profits, with 1 being the highest rank.
Business Activities:
A grid arranged into six major industry categories and several
sub-categories. A “Y” indicates that the firm
operates within the sub-category. A complete Index by Industry
is included in the beginning of Chapter 4.
Types of Business:
A listing of the primary types of business specialties conducted
by the firm.
Brands/Divisions/Affiliations:
Major brand names, operating divisions or subsidiaries of
the firm, as well as major corporate affiliations—such
as another firm that owns a significant portion of the company’s
stock. A complete Index by Subsidiaries, Brand Names and Selected
Affiliations is in the back of the book.
Contacts:
The names and titles up to 27 top officers of the company
are listed, including human resources contacts.
Address:
The firm’s full headquarters address, the headquarters
telephone, plus toll-free and fax numbers where available.
Also provided is the World Wide Web site address.
Financials:
Annual Sales (2004 or the latest fiscal year available
to the editors, plus up to four previous years): These
are stated in thousands of dollars (add three zeros if you
want the full number). This figure represents consolidated
worldwide sales from all operations. 2004 figures may be estimates
or may be for only part of the year—partial year figures
are appropriately footnoted.
Annual Profits (2004 or the latest fiscal year available
to the editors, plus up to four previous years): These
are stated in thousands of dollars (add three zeros if you
want the full number). This figure represents consolidated,
after-tax net profit from all operations. 2004 figures may
be estimates or may be for only part of the year—partial
year figures are appropriately footnoted.
Stock Ticker: When available, the unique stock market
symbol used to identify this firm’s common stock for
trading and tracking purposes is indicated. Where appropriate,
this field may contain “private” or “subsidiary”
rather than a ticker symbol.
Total Number of Employees: The approximate total number of
employees, worldwide, as of the end of 2004 (or the latest
data available to the editors).
Apparent Salaries/Benefits: A “Y”
in appropriate fields indicates “Yes.”
Due to wide variations in the manner in which corporations
report benefits to the U.S. Government’s regulatory
bodies, not all plans will have been uncovered or correctly
evaluated during our effort to research this data. Also, the
availability to employees of such plans will vary according
to the qualifications that employees must meet to become eligible.
For example, some benefit plans may be available only to salaried
workers—others only to employees who work more than
1,000 hours yearly. Benefits that are available to employees
of the main or parent company may not be available to employees
of the subsidiaries. In addition, employers frequently alter
the nature and terms of plans offered.
NOTE: Generally, employees covered by wealth-building benefit
plans do not fully own (“vest in”) funds contributed
on their behalf by the employer until as many as five years
of service with that employer have passed. All pension plans
are voluntary—that is, employers are not obligated to
offer pensions.
Pension Plan: The firm offers a pension plan to qualified
employees. In this case, in order for a “Y” to
appear, the editors believe that the employer offers a defined
benefit or cash balance pension plan (see discussions below).The
type and generosity of these plans vary widely from firm to
firm. Caution: Some employers refer to plans as “pension”
or “retirement” plans when they are actually 401(k)
savings plans that require a contribution by the employee.
• Defined Benefit Pension
Plans: Pension plans that do not require a contribution
from the employee are infrequently offered. However, a few companies,
particularly larger employers in high-profit-margin industries,
offer defined benefit pension plans where the employee is guaranteed
to receive a set pension benefit upon retirement. The amount
of the benefit is determined by the years of service with the
company and the employee’s salary during the later years
of employment. The longer a person works for the employer, the
higher the retirement benefit. These defined benefit plans are
funded entirely by the employer. The benefits, up to a reasonable
limit, are guaranteed by the Federal Government’s Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation. These plans are not portable—if
you leave the company, you cannot transfer your benefits into
a different plan. Instead, upon retirement you will receive
the benefits that vested during your service with the company.
If your employer offers a pension plan, it must give you a summary
plan description within 90 days of the date you join the plan.
You can also request a summary annual report of the plan, and
once every 12 months you may request an individual benefit statement
accounting of your interest in the plan.
• Defined Contribution Plans: These are quite
different. They do not guarantee a certain amount of pension
benefit. Instead, they set out circumstances under which the
employer will make a contribution to a plan on your behalf.
The most common example is the 401(k) savings plan. Pension
benefits are not guaranteed under these plans.
• Cash Balance Pension Plans: These plans were
recently invented. These are hybrid plans—part defined
benefit and part defined contribution. Many employers have converted
their older defined benefit plans into cash balance plans. The
employer makes deposits (or credits a given amount of money)
on the employee’s behalf, usually based on a percentage
of pay. Employee accounts grow based on a predetermined interest
benchmark, such as the interest rate on Treasury Bonds. There
are some advantages to these plans, particularly for younger
workers: a) The benefits, up to a reasonable limit, are guaranteed
by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. b) Benefits are
portable—they can be moved to another plan when the employee
changes companies. c) Younger workers and those who spend a
shorter number of years with an employer may receive higher
benefits than they would under a traditional defined benefit
plan.
ESOP Stock Plan (Employees’
Stock Ownership Plan): This type of plan is in wide use.
Typically, the plan borrows money from a bank and uses those
funds to purchase a large block of the corporation’s
stock. The corporation makes contributions to the plan over
a period of time, and the stock purchase loan is eventually
paid off. The value of the plan grows significantly as long
as the market price of the stock holds up. Qualified employees
are allocated a share of the plan based on their length of
service and their level of salary. Under federal regulations,
participants in ESOPs are allowed to diversify their account
holdings in set percentages that rise as the employee ages
and gains years of service with the company. In this manner,
not all of the employee’s assets are tied up in the
employer’s stock.
Savings Plan, 401(k): Under this type of plan,
employees make a tax-deferred deposit into an account. In
the best plans, the company makes annual matching donations
to the employees’ accounts, typically in some proportion
to deposits made by the employees themselves. A good plan
will match one-half of employee deposits of up to 6% of wages.
For example, an employee earning $30,000 yearly might deposit
$1,800 (6%) into the plan. The company will match one-half
of the employee’s deposit, or $900. The plan grows on
a tax-deferred basis, similar to an IRA. A very generous plan
will match 100% of employee deposits. However, some plans
do not call for the employer to make a matching deposit at
all. Other plans call for a matching contribution to be made
at the discretion of the firm’s board of directors.
Actual terms of these plans vary widely from firm to firm.
Generally, these savings plans allow employees to deposit
as much as 15% of salary into the plan on a tax-deferred basis.
However, the portion that the company uses to calculate its
matching deposit is generally limited to a maximum of 6%.
Employees should take care to diversify the holdings in their
401(k) accounts, and most people should seek professional
guidance or investment management for their accounts.
Stock Purchase Plan: Qualified employees may purchase
the company’s common stock at a price below its market
value under a specific plan. Typically, the employee is limited
to investing a small percentage of wages in this plan. The
discount may range from 5 to 15%. Some of these plans allow
for deposits to be made through regular monthly payroll deductions.
However, new accounting rules for corporations, along with
other factors, are leading many companies to curtail these
plans—dropping the discount allowed, cutting the maximum
yearly stock purchase or otherwise making the plans less generous
or appealing.
Profit Sharing: Qualified employees are awarded an annual
amount equal to some portion of a company’s profits.
In a very generous plan, the pool of money awarded to employees
would be 15% of profits. Typically, this money is deposited
into a long-term retirement account. Caution: Some employers
refer to plans as “profit sharing” when they are
actually 401(k) savings plans. True profit sharing plans are
rarely offered.
Highest Executive Salary: The highest executive
salary paid, typically a 2003 amount (or the latest year available
to the editors) and typically paid to the Chief Executive
Officer.
Highest Executive Bonus: The apparent bonus, if any,
paid to the above person.
Second Highest Executive Salary: The nexthighest executive
salary paid, typically a 2003 amount (or the latest year available
to the editors) typically paid to the President or Chief Operating
Officer.
Second Highest Executive Bonus: The apparent bonus, if
any, paid to the above person.
Other Thoughts:
Apparent Women Officers or Directors: It is difficult
to obtain this information on an exact basis, and employers
generally do not disclose the data in a public way. However,
we have indicated what our best efforts reveal to be the apparent
number of women who either are in the posts of corporate officers
or sit on the board of directors. There is a wide variance
from company to company.
Hot Spot for Advancement for Women/Minorities: A “Y”
in appropriate fields indicates “Yes.” These are
firms that appear either to have posted a substantial number
of women and/or minorities to high posts or that appear to
have a good record of going out of their way to recruit, train,
promote and retain women or minorities. (See the Index of
Hot Spots For Women and Minorities in the back of the book.)
This information may change frequently and can be difficult
to obtain and verify. Consequently, the reader should use
caution and conduct further investigation where appropriate.
Growth Plans/ Special Features:
Listed here are observations regarding the firm’s strategy,
hiring plans, plans for growth and product development, along
with general information regarding a company’s business
and prospects.
Locations:
A “Y” in the appropriate field indicates “Yes.”
Primary locations outside of the headquarters, categorized
by regions of the United States and by international locations.
A complete index by locations is also in the front of this
chapter.
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Industry Almanac
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