Press Releases

BOSTON – July 8, 2009 – Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE) today announced that five of its clients—ARCA Partners; Chicago Public Schools (CPS); Enbridge, Inc.; The Library of Congress; and The UK National Health Service Blood & Transplant (NHS)—have been recognized as a Laureate by IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program.  For over two decades, Computerworld Honors has acknowledged those individuals and organizations that have used information technology to benefit society.

“It is truly an honor for us here at Sapient to be working with organizations of this caliber,” said Alan Herrick, Sapient president and CEO.  “Their dedication and innovative thinking have helped turn ideas into overwhelmingly successful projects—projects that in some cases have improved education or helped save lives.  We congratulate the five winners that worked with Sapient—as well all the other wonderful projects recognized by this program.”

In addition to being named Laureates, ARCA Partners, the Library of Congress and NHS were all named finalists in their respective categories, indicating a top five finish for each.  The three finalists were selected as the top five in their categories from 159 Laureates, chosen out of over 200 global entries from ten categories. 

"The development and launch of the Library of Congress Experience required a degree of coordination and cooperation across the institution unprecedented in our long history,” added JoAnn Jenkins, chief operating officer at the Library of Congress.  “Sapient helped us build an award-winning public experience by facilitating the successful collaboration of countless stakeholders across the Library.”

ARCA Partners was also awarded the prestigious 21st Century Achievement Award, given annually to only one finalist in each of the ten categories, singled out for special recognition by the program judges as the very best among its peers.  This is the highest honor ever given out by Computerworld Honors.

“Sapient's vision in developing Onehen.org took the site to a higher plane of learning through participation than we could have imagined,” said Katie Smith Milway, the co-founder of Onehen.org, director of ARCA Partners and a 2009 Computerworld 21st Century Achievement Award Winner. “The commitment of the team and quality of the work, all on a pro bono basis, was priceless.  The team poured talent and passion into the creation.”

This year’s recipients were honored at the 21st Annual Laureate Medal Ceremony and Gala Awards Event, held June 1, 2009 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. 

“It was a real privilege to receive this award on behalf of NHS Blood and Transplant,” said Sally Johnson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation, NHS Blood and Transplant and 2009 Computerworld Honors Finalist. “The new EOS Organ Donation system brings great benefits to everyone involved in organ donation and transplantation and will help us save lives. The success is a tribute to the way it was designed, with Sapient and our staff working closely together to make sure it is fit for purpose.”

Following are summaries of each winner, demonstrating the leading-edge solutions and results Sapient and its clients have been able to achieve for the benefit of society.  These will be preserved in the Computerworld Honors Global Archive:

•     ARCA Partners: This project was centered around OneHen, a book telling the story of Kojo, an African boy from a village in Ghana.  By using small loans to grow a business that changes his life, his story teaches young readers about the power of microfinance.  Sapient brought Kojo’s story to life through interactive games, stories, photos and videos, carefully designed to entertain, educate and inspire.  And in addition to the kid-friendly activities—which culminate with users donating their game “beads” to virtual entrepreneurs—the site offers additional resources for learning and teaching about microfinance, including how to use OneHen lessons as part of a larger curriculum.

•     Chicago Public Schools (CPS):  CPS knows that parents’ involvement in their children’s education better prepares students for success in college, work and life.  CPS partnered with Sapient to redesign its online presence (http://www.cps.edu/) and make it easier for parents to find information, get involved and have a dialogue with the school system.  The site provides the latest information on all scholastic programs and first-of-a-kind tools that clarify the enrollment process for parents registering their child for the first time or moving to a new school.

•      Enbridge, Inc.:  Enbridge’s objective was to create an engaging, intuitive and collaborative resource that would enable employees to have an efficient, effective and fulfilling work experience.  The eLink employee portal was developed with Sapient to support existing and new members of the workforce by fostering a sense of community and connectedness within Enbridge, improving the effectiveness of corporate communications and increasing productivity around internal processes.  Since its launch, eLink is being used by over 5,000 Enbridge employees (over 80% of the workforce) across multiple locations and has become the “go-to” resource internally for assistance with daily job functions.
   
 •     The Library of Congress:  The Library of Congress’ Experience offers visitors unique historical and cultural treasures brought to life through cutting-edge interactive technology and a companion Web site developed in conjunction with Sapient.  It is comprised of a series of ongoing exhibitions, dozens of interactive kiosks, an inspiring multimedia "overture" on the collections and programs of the Library and a continuing online educational experience at myLOC.gov.  The Web site, which includes interactive resources and learning tools, helps nurture a lifelong relationship between learners and the Library.
   
•     UK National Health Service Blood & Transplant (NHS):  When donor organs become available for transplant, it is a race against time with a very small window of opportunity.  The UK organ donation and transplantation system was paper and telephone-based, making the organ donor process very time intensive.  To save lives and improve the process, NHS and Sapient implemented a new software system called Electronic Offering System (EOS) which not only speeds up the process of allocating donated organs for transplant, but also reduces the likelihood of errors, increases efficiency, improves the quality of the organs and significantly decreases the time required between organ availability and transplant.

“Each year, the Computerworld Honors Program seeks to recognize organizations, from a variety of sectors, for their ongoing efforts to utilize technology in order to benefit society,” said Ron Milton, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation and Executive Vice President of Computerworld.  “We are proud to provide a platform to publicly acknowledge these contributions.”

About the Computerworld Honors Program
Founded by International Data Group (IDG) in 1988, the Computerworld Honors Program is governed by the not-for-profit Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation.  In its 21st year, Computerworld Honors is the longest running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to benefit society.  Each year, the program’s Chairmen's Committee, a group of 100 Chairmen/CEOs of global technology companies, nominates individuals and organizations around the world whose visionary application of information technology promotes positive social and economic progress.  Nominations are evaluated by an independent board of CIO-level judges who select Laureates, Finalists and award recipients, in 10 industry-related categories, to be honored at the Laureate Medal Ceremony.  This year’s ceremony and accompanying Gala Awards Evening took place on June 1, 2009 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.  The technology achievements honored by this program are preserved and protected in national archives, and in over 350 universities, museums and research institutions throughout the world.  Additional information about the program and a Global Archive of past Laureate case studies and oral histories can be found at the Computerworld Honors website: www.cwhonors.org.
 

About Computerworld
Computerworld is the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide.  Computerworld’s award-winning Web site (www.computerworld.com), weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research from the hub of the world’s largest (40+ edition) global IT media network.  In the past six years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 awards, including Folio Magazine's 2006 Gold EDDIE Award for the best technology/computing magazine, the 2004 and 2006 Magazine of the Year Award and 2006 Best Overall Web Publication from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE).  In addition, in 2007 Computerworld's then editor in chief, Don Tennant, received the prestigious Timothy White Award from American Business Media.  Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 2 million unique, monthly visitors and a print audience of 1,222,000 readers each week (IntelliQuest CIMS Spring 2007). 

About International Data Group (IDG)
International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, events and research company.  IDG's online network includes more than 450 Web sites spanning business technology, consumer technology, digital entertainment and video games worldwide.  IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers in 85 countries including CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World and PC World.  IDG's lead-generation service, IDG Connect, matches technology companies with an audience of engaged, high quality IT professionals, influencers, and decision makers.  IDG is a leading producer of more than 750 technology-related events, including Macworld Conference & Expo, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, Entertainment for All Expo (E for All), DEMO and IDC Directions.  IDC, a subsidiary of IDG, is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events.  Over 900 IDC analysts in more than 90 countries provide global, regional and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends.  Additional information about IDG, a privately held company, is available at www.idg.com. 

About Sapient
Sapient, a global services firm, operates two groups—Sapient Interactive and Sapient Consulting—that help clients compete, evolve and grow in an increasingly complex marketplace.  Sapient Interactive provides brand and marketing strategy, award-winning creative work, web design and development and emerging media expertise.  Sapient Consulting provides business and IT strategy, process and systems design, package implementation and custom development, as well as outsourcing services such as testing, maintenance and support.

Sapient’s passion for client success—evidenced by its ability to foster collaboration, drive innovation and solve challenging problems—is the subject of case studies on leadership and organizational behavior used by MBA students at both Harvard and Yale.  Leading clients, including BP, Essent Energie, Hilton International, Janus, Sony Electronics and Verizon, rely on the company’s unique approach to drive growth and market momentum.  Headquartered in Boston, Sapient operates across North America, Europe and India.  For more information, please visit www.sapient.com.