To celebrate Computer Weekly's 40th anniversary, we want
you to choose the people, organisations and technologies that have
helped to shape the IT landscape.
Most influential people
There are plenty of possible candidates, but who do you think
really stands out? Bill Gates obviously, but what about Linus
Torvalds, the Finnish software engineer who gave the world Linux?
Or, in a male-dominated industry, one possibility might be
Stephanie Shirley, founder of Xansa, who pioneered new work
practices and blazed a trail for female IT professionals.
Most important organisations
Some of the pioneering firms from the 1960s and 1970s are still
going strong, but are they the industry's most important
organisations, or are today's web pioneers of greater significance
to technology's future?
Key software
The list of software technologies it is hard to imagine life
without seems to grow longer by the day. Where would finance
departments be without spreadsheets? Where would the internet be
with HTML? Where would we all be without e-mail?
Iconic hardware
From desktop PCs to the development of mobile telephony, there
are plenty of compelling candidates for inclusion in a crowded
field. Have barcodes made more of an impact on our lives than
routers?
Vote online
To take part in our anniversary polls, visit
www.computerweekly.com/ITgreats, click on each of the category
headings and select your top three from the shortlist of 10 names
provided. There is also space to add your own choice if it has not
made our shortlist.