Company tops magazine’s IT list

Monday, Dec. 18, 2000 | 12:48 p.m.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas received the No. 1 ranking in "Innovation 100," an annual study by information technology trade publication InformationWeek.

The study, complied by InformationWeek and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, grades companies based on "innovative uses of technology to help companies move from reacting to anticipating customer needs -- perhaps even before customers are aware of those needs. The study examines innovation in customer service, data management, customer profiling, leading initiatives, "personalization" and comparisons to other companies in an industry.

The magazine praised Harrah's for its companywide "Total Rewards" program, calling it "Harrah's attempt to inject a great deal of science into the industry practice of handing out comps."

"The IT-intensive approach to customer service is more than just knowing the name of repeat visitors ... by tracking what slot machines he plays, for how long, and how much he gambles, Harrah's can determine how profitable (a player) is as an individual customer and make him special offers, tailored to his casino behavior, to woo him back," InformationWeek wrote.

Harrah's was the only gaming company to be named to the list. Other companies in the top 10 included Vanguard Group Inc., Compaq Computer Corp., Office Depot Inc., 3Com Corp. and Staples Inc.