InformationWeek has ranked Getty Images seventh in its list of 500 most innovative corporate users of information technology. Companies that outranked Getty include Con-way, National Semiconductor, Vanguard Group, Kimberly-Clark, Washington Mutual and Standard Register. Last year, Getty was ranked at 143.

Getty Images spends $70 million per year on information technology. Its IT team employs 230 people. According to InformationWeek, Getty's recent IT initiatives - included its Web site redesign and the new Catalyst search - demonstrated innovation.

Followed by The New York Times Co., ranked at 34, Getty Images is the highest-scoring company in the media and entertainment category. InformationWeek's research says that three-quarters of media companies will create new products and services within a year, and 58% will increase their IT spending.

The InformationWeek study also highlighted the top IT executives of most innovative companies, profiling Bruce Livingstone, senior vice president of consumer and technology at Getty Images and CEO of iStockphoto. The founder of iStock, which was purchased by Getty in 2006, is fast becoming a key figure in the upper ranks of the parent company. Some speculate that Getty's recent moves on the Web, including a new consumer-facing ViewImages.com and the $49 image-usage license, are the result of Livingstone's influence.

Earlier this year, Livingstone was made a top-level executive and, in addition to running iStock, started working on new consumer-oriented projects. He assumed responsibility for technology in the summer, replacing Linda Ranz, who held that position for less than a year. Delays in the redesign of gettyimages.com and other IT-related problems have corresponded with frequent turnover of executives filling the top technology post.

Livingstone sees the InformationWeek award as capping off an exciting year in terms of Getty's technological investments. "Our innovative enhancements to the site, specifically the addition of our first-of-its-kind Catalyst search tool, demonstrate our focus on engaging our customers in new ways to make their jobs easier," he said.