ATLANTA, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company today announced that InformationWeek Magazine named it one of the 2009 InformationWeek 500. The annual award program recognizes the nation's most innovative users of business technology. The awards were presented this month at a ceremony in Dana Point, Calif.

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"For over 20 years, the InformationWeek 500 has honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek Editor-in-Chief Rob Preston. "Year after year, InformationWeek 500 companies harness technology to improve efficiency, boost productivity, drive revenue, and establish a competitive advantage. We applaud this year's winners, and the CIOs and other executives whose ingenuity and risk taking are at the center of business technology innovation."

InformationWeek recognized Southern Company for its success on SelectGeorgia.net, a Web-based system used by Georgia Power, one of Southern Company's four electric utility operating companies. SelectGeorgia.net allows executives who are considering Georgia as a possible location for their business to research all available properties in the state, as well as find extensive information on each of the state's 159 counties and 535 cities. The application has helped bring more than $1.3 billion in new capital investment and more than 5,800 new jobs to Georgia.

"SelectGeorgia.net is a great tool for economic development," said Kevin Fletcher, vice president of economic development for Georgia Power. "Everything we do relies on strong partnerships with organizations such as the Georgia Department of Economic Development, local chambers of commerce and development authorities, and internal groups such as Southern Company's IT organization. The data and support provided by our partners keeps SelectGeorgia.net running, relevant, and effective in bringing jobs and investment to Georgia."

"Southern Company is pleased to have its work on the SelectGeorgia.net project recognized by InformationWeek," David Ratcliffe, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. "This award is a result of the commitment, dedication and innovation of our talented information technology team and our strong partnership with leaders in economic development across the state."

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America's best-known companies. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow - from the defining and framing of objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties like DarkReading.com (security), IntelligentEnterprise.com (application architecture), Network Computing (networking and communications) and PlugintotheCloud.com (cloud computing). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets such as CIOs, developers and SMBs with Dr. Dobb's InformationWeek Global CIO and bMighty.com, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare. With content at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy, IT professionals turn to our network of expert voices, research and communities to stay informed, get advice, and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company

SOURCE: Southern Company

Web site: http://www.southerncompany.com/