Computerworld's "BEST PLACES TO WORK IN IT": UPenn #6

Computerworld's annual BEST PLACES TO WORK IN IT issue is out, and it pretty much includes the usual suspects. I sometimes wonder whether they just take the previous year's list and rearrange it slightly to make it look different; actually Computerworld describes its selection process as being rather methodical, including survey responses from almost 30,000 employees in the top 100 companies. UPenn ranks 6th, Computerworld citing its benefits program and its "Models of Excellence" employee-recognition program.


Other Philly area companies/organizations include the Lehigh Valley Health Network of Allentown (20), The Vanguard Group of Malvern (29), which has over 2200 IT employees, Heartland Payment Systems of Princeton (30), which a couple of years ago was the victim of what was perhaps the worst hacking breach in history but has worked hard since to become a leader in cybersecurity issues, American Water of Vorhees (43) and Temple University of Philadelphia (67). Verizon Wireless (5) has many Philly-area employees and is headquartered not too far away in Basking Ridge, NJ. Penn National Insurance (96) is based in Harrisburg.


Alternatively, Computerworld offers a forum where people can discuss the "worst places to work" in IT.



permalink

Vanguard Group #1 on 2010 Information Week 500

The new Information Week 500 is out, and although it often tends to read pretty much the same from year to year, one interesting move is that the Vanguard Group of Malvern, the giant mutual fund, now has the top ranking (though it has been highly ranked in previous years). See detailed profile here. I'll do a rundown of the other area companies included soon.





permalink

Penn leads area organizations on Computerworld's "100 Best Places To Work In IT"

Computerworld has named its 2010 100 Best Places To Work In IT, and as usual the University of Pennshylvania is ranked right near the top, at #5.

Others are Campbell Soup (16), The Vanguard Group (35), Lehigh
Valley Health Network (36), Temple University (53), and American Water of Vorhees (94).

Penn was recognized for, among other things, its new open-source/open-standard voice-over-IP system to replace the existing one and deliver unified communications, and a multiyear initiative to replace Penn's printed directory with an online-only version.

Campbell's was lauded for its heath and wellness programs, Vanguard for its in-house training, Lehigh Valley Health for a strong community service culture, Temple for its huge computer lab and its employee tuition breaks, and American Water for its embrace of new technologies.

Among these six area organizations Vanguard is by far the largest IT employer, having over 2400 employees classified as such.