The World Economic Forum Announces Technology Pioneers 2007: Alfresco Selected
LONDON -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 04, 2006 -- The World Economic Forum today announced 47 Technology Pioneers for 2007. Alfresco Software has been selected as one of these Technology Pioneers. The Technology Pioneers were nominated by the world's leading venture capital and technology companies. The final selection from 225 nominees was made by a panel of leading technology experts appointed by the World Economic Forum. Technology Pioneers 2007 are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum to be held in Davos, Switzerland from 24-28 January 2007.
Alfresco Software (www.alfresco.com) is an open source enterprise content management (ECM) system that brings the disruptive power of the open source model to the $3.9 billion ECM industry. Alfresco's co-founder John Newton, CTO and Technology Pioneer representative, who also co-founded the market leader Documentum, has had a big influence on the ECM industry. Alfresco is freely available content management software that controls and accesses content, such as web pages, images, or documents, throughout the enterprise. With cost advantages of open source, even small or poorly funded organizations, including those in the developing world, can meet regulatory requirements, serve customers and citizens, and discover important research.
"We are proud to have won this award recognizing Alfresco's technology, the global power of open source and the importance of managing content in economic development," said John Newton. "We hope to use the opportunities created by this award to gain greater visibility to how information can help solve some of the world's most pressing problems and how sharing and retaining knowledge can level the playing field for companies outside of the developed world."
Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. This year's class of companies has been selected not only because of the cutting-edge work undertaken by these organizations, but also because their work has potential long-term impact on business and society.
The companies' products include microscopic pill cameras, bio sensors that localize landmines, implantable medical devices for the treatment of brain tumours, mobile television service, blog search engines, open source webrowsers, video headsets, thin-film diamond coatings, solar air-conditioner equipment, paper batteries for music-playing greeting cards, and even an automatic and compacting trash bin powered by solar energy.
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Over half (27) of the Technology Pioneers 2007 are US-based companies, with 13 located in California. The United Kingdom boasts six Technology Pioneers 2007; the Netherlands, India, Israel and Singapore boast two each; Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland have one each.
"The competition to become a Technology Pioneer has been more intense than ever. It is evident that technology and innovation is playing a key role in the shifting power equation at a global level. Driving this shift is the tremendous amount of innovation taking place outside of traditional hubs. The wide geographic spread of this year's Technology Pioneers is a testament to this trend. We are pleased to welcome these exciting companies to our Community of Technology Pioneers, and look forward to engaging these industry leaders of the future into the community of the World Economic Forum," said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.
To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing market leader -- and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers have included Autonomy, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Encore Software, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Napster.
Go to www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2007 for the entire list of Technology Pioneers and interviews with the CEOs of the selected companies.
The selection criteria include:
1) Innovation. The company's technology must be truly innovative. A new version or repackaging of an already well-accepted technological solution does not qualify as an innovation. The innovation should be recent -- not more than two years old. The company should invest significantly in R&D.
2) Potential Impact. This company's technology must have the potential to have a substantial long-term impact on business and society in the future.
3) Growth and Sustainability. The company should have all the signs of being a long-term market leader and should have well-formulated plans for future development and growth.
4) Proof of Concept. The company must have a product on the market or have proven practical applications of the technology. Companies in "stealth" mode and companies with untested ideas or models will not qualify.
5) Leadership. The company must have visionary leadership that plays a critical role in driving the company towards reaching its goals.
6) Status. The company must not currently be a Member of the World Economic Forum. This criterion applies to the parent company -- thus wholly owned subsidiaries of large firms are not eligible.
Alfresco was launched in January 2005, by John Newton, co-founder of Documentum, and CEO John Powell, former COO of Business Objects, to transform the ECM market. Alfresco successfully brought the first versions of its software to market in 6 months and has evolved very quickly with releases that have significant scalability, stability and robustness, due in large part to the large number of people downloading and testing the system. Many Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies now use Alfresco in production with mission critical applications such as document management, contract management, intranet information distribution, records management and corporate web sites.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and society by creating partnerships between and among business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance key issues on the global agenda. Incorporated in 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. In 1995 the Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
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