Industry Online DVD rental Company Hollywoodclicks was founded in 2004 in Singapore. Members can rent up to three DVDs at one time for a monthly membership fee of S$35 (US$22). The shipping (both ways) is free, and there is no limit to the number of movies a member can rent in a month. Employees 7 IT staff 3 Annual IT Budget Confidential

Two-year-old Hollywoodclicks prides itself on having a customer-centric strategy, where it continuously strives for better customer service enabled largely by tight integration of its back-end database systems.

This is key because central to its online operations is its ability to extract information pertaining to each customer. This information includes, but is not limited to, a member's personal particulars, credit card information, movie titles the member is currently holding, titles under reservation, and the movies rented in the last 30 days.

Using complex algorithms, movie titles are sorted from its 5,000-title library and distributed to its members daily. Members use its custom-built search engine to browse its DVD library.

According to Hollywoodclicks, it records a 20 percent yearly increase in revenue as a result of process efficiencies.

On being a Smart50 company, CEO Daniel Simon told ZDNet Asia: "To be recognized by the best in the IT profession as one of Asia's best users of IT means three things.

"One, we have created a Web site that is easy to navigate. Two, we are a company that uses cutting-edge technology. And three, we are valued by those in the industry as something to emulate. This is something we are very proud of," he said.

Simon credits the IT department, which comprises qualified architects and engineers, for much of the business success. "They are the ones who make sure that the house is standing tall day in and day out. They are the linchpin to our success as a company," he noted.

Going forward, Hollywoodclicks aims to continue to improve the user experience. "We want to make sure that our members are maximizing the use of our Web site in an environment that has no interruptions and offers speed and efficiency," Simon said.

"Our focus for the coming year will be on enhancing the speed of our user interface, and offering our members some additional tools to make their online rental experience with Hollywoodclicks.com that much more enjoyable!"