Apple Rated Most Innovative Technology Company

BusinessWeek is out with the yearly review of the most innovative companies — the 2008 edition launched today. Apple is rated highest in innovation in the technology category and second in the media/entertainment category.

BusinessWeek editor Jena McGregor explains how they determined the list. This year the theme is "innovation during a recession". They surveyed a variety of senior executives to determine who are the leaders in innovation in a variety of areas.

The technology innovators are (in rank order): Apple, Google, AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft, Nokia, Cisco, IBM, Intel and RIM. In media/entertainment, the innovators are (again in rank order): Disney, Apple, News Corp., Google, Sony, Time Warner, GE, Nintendo, Viacom and Facebook.

If you want to bypass the confusing navigation on the BW Web site, here are the winners in each category. I find Google as an entertainment winner a bit suspect – sure they own YouTube, but we create the entertainment there and in general Google isn’t an entertainment company. IBM as a technology innovator? I thought they did business process consulting these days.

How much innovation is going on at the small-to-medium companies? I’d suggest that’s where the real innovation lives.