David Lidsky's Blog, page 4873

#19 GE - Most Innovative Companies 2010

Last year, GE exceeded its emission-reduction targets and increased green product revenues by more than 20% -- on target to meet its 2012 Ecomagination goals. Now GE's $17 billion health-care division is looking to tap some of that magic. "There doesn't have to be a trade-off where higher-quality health care means increased costs," says Mike Barber, GE's Healthymagination chief.

#18 IBM - Most Innovative Companies 2010

When IBM looks at the water industry, it sees an ailing supply chain in need of its algorithmic elixir. Over the past two years, the tech giant, which practices the largely unseen art of taming vast and complex information systems, has increased the flow of meaningful data to state and local governments, utilities, and manufacturers.

#17 Cisco Systems - Most Innovative Companies 2010

On November 9 of last year, Cisco Systems introduced an unheard-of 61 new technologies, all focused on collaboration. Tony Bates, the SVP behind them, says collaboration is a $34 billion market, and "by far the most exciting thing we're working on. The world is bigger than an office and a bunch of cubes."

#16 BYD - Most Innovative Companies 2010

The Chinese car-and-battery maker already beat GM, Toyota, and Nissan to market with the first plug-in hybrid. Now the 15-year-old company is on the verge of doing the same with its all-electric full-size E6 -- which BYD wants to start selling in the U.S. by the end of 2010, even though it doesn't yet have a single stateside dealership.

#15 Spotify - Most Innovative Companies 2010

Spotify is a ray of hope in the post-CD music industry, combining the best of iTunes and music services like Pandora. Indeed, Apple's purchase of streaming site Lala (for a reported $80 million) may be viewed in part as a preemptive defense against Spotify's planned entry into the U.S. this year.

#14 Intel - Most Innovative Companies 2010

With its single-chip cloud computer (SCC), Intel is rethinking the way users interact with PCs. "It's like a concept car," says Sean Koehl, a technology evangelist at Intel Labs. "We said, 'In five years, what will we want from a chip? Let's build it now.' " With 48 Intel processing cores -- the most ever on a single chip -- the SCC's power can dramatically decrease the number of machines needed to create cloud data centers.

#13 Nike - Most Innovative Companies 2010

Nike, once a model of corporate autocracy, has gotten in the open-source groove, opening itself up to collaboration with virtually everyone. In 2009, the company turned its coolest customers into designers, its sneakers into personal fitness consultants, and its intellectual property into free R&D for solving the world's problems.

#12 Netflix - Most Innovative Companies 2010

After creating the much-admired model of an Internet mail-order rental business, shipping about two million DVDs a day, Netflix has been aggressively pursuing the next generation of distribution channels -- web streaming, game consoles, and other connected devices. About half of its 11 million subscribers have used the "watch instantly" feature -- movies and shows without commercials. More than 12,000 titles are available for streaming, and more are coming as Netflix signs on more studio and...

#9 Walmart - Most Innovative Companies 2010

The world's largest retailer took its boldest leap yet in a quest to green its entire operation with a new plan to rate the sustainability of every product it sells. Tapping its 2 million employees, 100,000 global suppliers, and a consortium of NGOs, scientists, and other businesses, Walmart has grown into the world's greenest retailer.

#10 HP - Most Innovative Companies 2010

HP continues its astonishing transformation under CEO Mark Hurd, from an underperforming printer-reliant giant into the world's largest tech company (almost $130 billion a year in revenue), thriving in multiple markets.