ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company today announced that IDG's Computerworld magazine has selected Dave Coker, vice president of computing and network service for Southern Company as one of the magazine's Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2011.

"Dave is an exceptional leader and we're proud to have him on our team," said Becky Blalock, Southern Company senior vice president and chief information officer.  "His innovative thinking, dedication and commitment are a great asset not only to Southern Company but also to the IT industry."

Each year Computerworld spotlights 100 award-winning leaders from both the technology and business sides of companies for their exceptional technology leadership, innovative ideas to business challenges and effective management of IT strategies. The Premier 100 awards ceremony will be one of the highlights of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference March 6-8, 2011, in Palm Desert, Calif.

Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference involves companies across all industries, as well as government and educational organizations. This year's recipients were selected from more than 1,000 nominees, who were measured against Computerworld's IT Leadership Index, a set of characteristics that describes executives who guide the effective use of IT in their organizations, and evaluated by the editors and a panel of outside judges. The candidates were asked a range of topics, including their backgrounds, work experiences, special accomplishments and leadership styles.

About Computerworld:

Computerworld is the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide, providing peer perspective, IT leadership and business results.  Computerworld's award-winning website (http://www.computerworld.com), bi-weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research forms the hub of the world's largest (40+ edition) global IT media network. In the past five years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 awards, including Magazine of the Year by American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) awards in 2010, the 2009 Best Blog from the Neal awards, and 2006 Best Overall Web Publication from ASBPE. Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 3.5 million unique, monthly visitors (comScore Media Metrix, August 2010). Computerworld is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, events, and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com.  Computerworld Magazine is an International Data Group (IDG) publication.

About Southern Company:

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 website at www.southerncompany.com

SOURCE Southern Company