ZDNet Asia Top Tech 50 to recognize Asia's potential

The ZDNet Asia Top Tech 50 awards are back, and we're once again seeking nominations to identify the industry's best-performing tech companies.

The marketplace is crowded with players clamoring for every available IT dollar, and at the same time, companies need to find the biggest returns for each IT dollar they invest. It can be tough sifting through the noise and picking vendors that are least likely to bail out, or shut down in the middle of a major implementation.

With that in mind, a primary objective of the Top Tech 50 Index is to assist tech buyers in their decision-making process by identifying market players that have been, simply put, around the block.

We've kept the selection process as objective as we could by making figures and stats the key performance indicators, so tech vendors that produce consistently stellar financial results and exhibit a strong presence in Asia will stand well on the Index.

And the pool is getting smaller, with mergers and acquisitions making news headlines ever so often. EDS, for example, which made it to the 2006 Top Tech 50 Index, will no longer be part of the next one once its merger with Hewlett-Packard is reflected in the financial books.

Asia could very well be the answer to this changing landscape. China and India have emerged as formidable IT powerhouses, and backed by their massive domestic markets, have the potential to help lead the region as the next tech innovation hub.

That's why this installment of the Top Tech 50 awards will not only feature 10 Most Promising Asian TechnoVisionaries, we'll also be handing out a special award to recognize an Asian company that demonstrates strong commitment to research and development.

Much of the industry's most innovative technology in the last three decades or so, has spawned from the Silicon Valley in California. It's where some of the most ingenious business models are funded, and nurtured, and where budding technopreneurs aren't afraid to try out new ideas--even if it means they may fail trying. In 2007 alone, the Silicon Valley attracted US$10 billion of investment.

Asia hasn't quite, yet, become a hub that's the equivalent of Silicon Valley, but there's no reason why it can't. India's Tata Group already has the technology to produce a US$2,500 car, while China's Baidu.com--not Google--is the leading search engine in its domestic market.

Asia needs more tech champions like them, and through the ZDNet Asia Top Tech awards, we hope to acknowledge these homegrown technopreneurs--regardless of their size.

To nominate a company for the Top Tech 50 Index and Top 10 Most Promising Asian TechnoVisionaries, you may download nomination forms here or visit our site to find out more about the awards.

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Eileen Yu

Eileen Yu began covering the IT industry when Asynchronous Transfer Mode was still hip and e-commerce was the new buzzword. These days, she gets stirred up over issues concerning Internet regulation, intellectual property rights and software patents, online privacy and data protection. Eileen is senior editor at ZDNet Asia, where she oversees the business tech news site.