City of Minneapolis and Bancolombia Group Named 2011 Computerworld Honors Program Laureates for Visionary Use of IT

BLUE BELL, Pa., June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IDG's Computerworld Honors Program recently selected Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) end-user services clients City of Minneapolis and Bancolombia Group as members of the Computerworld Honors Program Laureates Class of 2011.

The annual award program honors visionary applications of information technology that promote positive social, economic and educational change.

The City of Minneapolis was recognized in the "Human Services" category and honored for its work with Unisys to donate previously used city computers to "PCs for People," a Saint Paul-based non-profit that refurbishes computers and distributes them to underprivileged area residents.

Since 2009, the City of Minneapolis and Unisys have donated thousands of used PCs, providing needy recipients in Minneapolis with access to technology and essential information and services.

In addition, this "green" initiative has had a sustainability benefit by keeping usable equipment from being destroyed or put into landfills.

Bancolombia Group, one of Latin America's largest commercial banking organizations with headquarters in Colombia, was cited in the "Economic Opportunity" category for its achievements in innovative use of IT to improve economic development and contribute to the creation of new job opportunities in Colombia.

The recognition was based on the bank's success in working with Unisys to develop the Technological Managed Service Center, which provides service desk and on-site support technologies for agents who serve the bank's six million customers and employee end-users.

Through the center, Bancolombia Group has provided new job opportunities to lower-income populations and college and technical students in the city of Rionegro and the state of Antioquia in Colombia, which had an unemployment rate of 11.8 percent in 2010. Also, as part of its strategy, Bancolombia Group enables customers in smaller urban areas to use lower-cost banking channels to obtain low-cost loans and other banking services. Those channels include the Internet, non-financial banking agents such as retail outlets, and devices situated near wireless access points.

"We're proud and honored that our clients City of Minneapolis and Bancolombia Group have  been selected as 2011 Computerworld Honors Laureates," said Ron Frankenfield, president, Unisys Global Outsourcing and Infrastructure Services. "These initiatives show that when applied creatively, information technology can both enhance an organization's bottom line and help the local community."

"The number and quality of nominations this year were inspiring and demonstrate how valuable IT is to community change," said John Amato, Publisher, Computerworld. "Computerworld is very proud to name the 2011 class of Laureates and showcase their initiatives benefiting society through innovative uses of IT."

The Computerworld Honors awards will be presented at the Annual Laureates Medal Ceremony & Gala Awards on June 20, 2011 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

About 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. Computerworld Honors is the longest running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to promote positive social, economic and educational change. Additional information about the program and a Global Archive of past Laureate case studies and oral histories of Leadership Award recipients can be found at the Computerworld Honors website http://events.computerworld.com/Honors2011.

About Unisys

Unisys is a worldwide information technology company. We provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology that solves critical problems for clients. We specialize in helping clients secure their operations, increase the efficiency and utilization of their data centers, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernize their enterprise applications. To provide these services and solutions, we bring together offerings and capabilities in outsourcing services, systems integration and consulting services, infrastructure services, maintenance services, and high-end server technology. With approximately 23,000 employees, Unisys serves commercial organizations and government agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.

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