CIO of the Year Nominations Now Being Accepted.

-Deadline is October 5, 2007-

CLEVELAND -- The Northeast Ohio Software Association (NEOSA), the technology network of the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE), will again be honoring area Chief Information Officer's at its annual CIO Symposium on November 14 at Corporate College East, Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

"Winning the NEOSA CIO of the Year award is an illustration of a CIO's and his or her team's unwavering commitment to innovating, developing, implementing and supporting new business processes and technologies that help to deliver improved results for their respective organization," says Jim Sage, CIO at The University of Akron and CIO Symposium committee member. "Our committee has been very impressed with the quality of the nominees and the successes they've achieved; it's always difficult to determine our winners."

The CIO of the Year award was first presented in 2005 and garners more than 50 nominations each year. Awards are presented in four (4) categories: Large Company (500+ employees); Small Company (151-500 employees); Large Non-profit Organization (150+ employees); and Small Non-profit Organization (less than 150 employees). In addition to the CIO Award, the winning company's IT team will be recognized as the "NEOSA IT Team of the Year."

To be considered for the award, CIO's must first be nominated and meet minimum qualifications. Some of the qualifications include: holding the position of CIO or Senior IT executive in a Northeast Ohio based company (or local subsidiary), demonstration of innovative leadership through effective use of technology and represent the highest standards of leadership in information technology and others. A complete description of the award and qualifications can be found on NEOSA's website (www.neosa.org).

A panel of judges determines the winners and finalists in each category. Deadline to submit a nomination form is October 5, 2007. Nominations for the award can be made online through an interactive form on NEOSA's website at www.neosa.org/cioaward. NEOSA encourages area companies to nominate their own CIO, for vendors to nominate client-CIO's and also for peers to nominate peer-CIO's.

"I'm very honored to have won this award the last two year. It's a testament to the hard work, creativity and dedication of our IT team here at OMNOVA Solutions," says Doug Wenger, Senior Vice President and CIO of OMNOVA Solutions. "This award confirms the business value we've provided over the last several years. We've also successfully used this recognition externally in company communications and in recruiting."

About COSE

COSE serves as a one-stop resource for its members by providing: group-purchasing programs that reduce the cost of doing business; education and development programs for small- and mid-sized businesses; advocacy on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the business community; a wide range of resources focused on helping firms grow; and economic development partners that can address business concerns. (www.cose.org)

About NEOSA

In order to serve the needs of small business members, COSE recently launched three networks (arts, home-based and technology) that connect small business owners with common characteristics, interests and needs, and provide opportunities to interact, unite and learn. NEOSA has more than 700 members that represent every facet of information technology.