The requirement for participation in the coveted business competition is to go through a scientific selection process. On behalf of the organizer of the comparison, the innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke from the Vienna University of Economics and his team examined iTernity based on more than 100 criteria from five categories: Innovative top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organization, external orientation/open innovation, and innovation success. The main focus is on whether the company systematically works on forward-looking, innovative solutions and whether these are repeatable.

iTernity, which is being recognized as one of the top innovators of German medium-sized businesses for the fifth time this year, specializes in the development of software-defined solutions for long-term data storage and digital archiving and has over 1,200 reputable companies in its customer base. "Innovative power is part of the DNA of iTernity," says Ralf Steinemann, CEO of iTernity. "For us, it is essential to support our employees in identifying the needs and problems of our customers and partners. Today, these include rapid growth of business-critical data, shortage of skilled IT specialists, cost pressure, and increase in cybercrime. On this basis, we develop creative, future-proof solutions and establish strategic and technological partnerships. This is how we have been able to consistently impress our customers with our archiving and storage solutions for 20 years and overcome the pressing challenges in IT departments!"

Due to the requirement of equal opportunities, the seal is awarded in three size classes: up to 50, 51 to 200 and more than 200 employees. In the anniversary year of TOP 100 – the innovation competition has been held for the 30th time – many medium-sized companies have applied for the coveted innovation award. Out of 550 applicants, 300 were successful and are allowed to hold the TOP 100 seal. A maximum of 100 companies can be awarded per size class.

"TOP 100 is about the question of what value the goal of innovation holds within the company," says Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, the scientific director of the competition. "Do routines and habits dominate or is the company able to question existing things, think creatively and successfully compete in the market? We analyze this ability using more than 100 evaluation criteria," he explains. Ranga Yogeshwar, a science journalist and mentor of the 2023 innovation competition, will personally congratulate iTernity at the award ceremony on June 23rd in Augsburg as part of the German Mittelstand-Summit for their success in TOP 100.

TOP 100: The competition
Since 1993, compamedia has been awarding the TOP 100 seal for outstanding innovation and exceptional innovation success to medium-sized companies. The scientific leadership has been in the hands of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke since 2002. Franke is the founder and board member of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics. With 26 research awards and over 200 publications, he is internationally recognized as one of the leading innovation researchers. The mentor of TOP 100 is the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. The project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the promotion of applied research and the Mittelstandsverband BVMW. The magazines manager magazin, impulse, and ZEIT für Unternehmer accompany the company comparison as media partners. More information and registration can be found at www.top100.de.

More information and general image material about the TOP 100 competition can be found on the internet at www.top100.de/presse or by email at presse@compamedia.de. Further information about the awarded company is provided by Marcel Czech.