I’m pleased to introduce you to this year’s Model of Excellence recipients. The Models of Excellence program highlights young companies that are industry “exemplars,” setting standards for innovation in application, business, and content models. Each company is diligently reviewed and selected by our DataContent partner, the InfoCommerce Group. Honorees will be announced during the Model of Excellence Dinner during DataContent 2012.

This year’s Model of Excellence recipients:

• Bundle is a true pioneer in turning Big Data into a high-value data product. By turning anonymous credit transactions into unbiased reviews of retail establishments, Bundle helps consumers make smart buying decisions based on objective analysis. They’ve made an impressive start to bringing hard data to the business of business reviews.
• Caplinked leapfrogs the existing virtual data room services by providing a platform that is social, viral, mobile, affordable, and easy to use. Caplinked equips small- to medium-size companies with the same ability to raise capital, manage M&A transactions, and handle investor reporting that was once only available to big players. They have grown 6,000% in the last year and are assembling a community that represents the economic powerhouses of the future.
• GovTrak addresses an increasingly important and complex challenge: finding, understanding, and tracking government legislation. GovTrak is a well-executed example of how the combination of data, tools, and analytics can deliver power to those who are seeking the truth.
• InfoArmy revolutionizes how a content company is built by marshaling two of the industry’s most powerful trends: crowdsourcing and community. Success is participatory, self-managed and self-re-enforcing. InfoArmy is a true example of content unbound – non-bureaucratic, collaborative and exponential.
• Reachable does amazing things with graph technology and mashups of various contact lists enabling what it calls “social proximity selling,” where sales people can use identified “connection paths” to reach specific prospects. It is particularly powerful for larger organizations as a tool for co-workers to leverage each other’s connections. Reachable is a very distinctive offering with its own specialized functionality and value proposition.
• Speakerfile transforms the way companies connect their experts to the global market by combining a marketplace model with a dynamic visual search experience, as well as strong content management and workflow functionality. The expert visibility platform helps thousands of event organizers, media, and potential customers discover, evaluate, and connect with thought leaders around the world. Speakerfile has created a useful, high-value service for organizations to help achieve or maintain eminence in their industries.
• RedBeacon has reset the bar on lead generation by investing lots of effort to customize the negotiating and selecting experience, providing a highly-secure bid process, and even accommodating non-standard service requests. The real product RedBeacon has produced is trust, and they reap the rewards by keeping themselves firmly in the middle of all transactions.

Don’t miss the Models of Excellence Dinner, and the complete DataContent conference. Register now to join us as we explore the intersection of Data, Communities, and Markets. (You’ll save with early-bird rates, but only through Monday, September 10.)