netrashetty
MP Guru
International Data Group (IDG) is a technology media, research, event management, and venture capital organization. IDG evolved from International Data Corporation (IDC) which was formed in 1964 in Newtonville, Massachusetts, by Patrick Joseph McGovern and a friend, Fred Kirch. IDC is now a subsidiary of IDG.
There is an international mother company (located in Boston), with a few publications. In every country where IDG is located, the publications are produced on a national level, where there is a lot of knowledge for that particular local market.
IDG publishes over 300 magazines in 85 countries and their five global publication product lines — Computerworld/InfoWorld, CIO, Macworld, Network World, and PC World — account for more than 175 of these titles. McGovern has made billions of dollars from the growth of IDG, which has remained a private company.
Patrick J. McGovern is Founder and Chairman of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading technology media, events and research company, with annual revenues in 2010 of $3.16 billion.
McGovern’s career in publishing began while he was a student at MIT, when he applied for a part-time editorial job at Computers and Automation – the first U.S. computer magazine. He was promptly named associate editor and became associate publisher upon his graduation from MIT in 1959 with a degree in biophysics.
In 1964, with the computer industry still in its infancy, McGovern founded International Data Corporation (IDC), now an IDG subsidiary, to provide the industry with timely and reliable statistics on information technology markets. Three years later, McGovern launched Computerworld, a weekly newspaper dedicated to keeping computer buyers abreast of industry and product news.
Computerworld became IDG’s flagship publication, and in 1972, McGovern began exporting the Computerworld concept, launching Shukan Computer in Japan. By “thinking globally but acting locally,” a strategy that continues to guide IDG’s worldwide expansion, McGovern ensured that the Japanese publication would not be a Computerworld clone. From the start, it was edited and managed by a Japanese staff whose mission was to satisfy readers through a superior editorial product tailored to local market needs.
McGovern has overseen IDG’s launch of more than 300 magazines and newspapers and championed the expansion of IDG’s online network to include more than 450 Web sites worldwide. IDG’s media brands are found in more than 90 countries and include CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld/TechWorld/TecChannel, Macworld, Network World and PC World. IDG produces more than 700 technology-related events in 55 countries, including Macworld Conference & Expo, DEMO, Storage Networking World and IDC Directions. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional and local expertise on technology and industry trends in over 90 countries worldwide.
“Thinking globally” is the heart of McGovern’s growth strategy for IDG and is behind his remarkable track record in identifying and opening new markets. In 1980, McGovern established one of the first joint ventures between a U.S. company and one in the People’s Republic of China, and he has since made more than 100 trips to China. In 1993, McGovern established IDGVC, the first venture capital firm in China.
IDG now has more than 30 publications and 45 Web sites in China and, each year, holds more than 18 expositions and 60 conferences in the world’s fastest growing major IT market. IDGVC Partners has become the leading VC firm in China with over $3 billion under management.
“Acting locally” describes McGovern’s commitment to his people and to a decentralized management structure focused on respect for IDG employees and customers. In April 2004, Inc. magazine named McGovern one of its “25 Entrepreneurs We Love” for “knowing the power of respect.”
“His commitment to decentralization has created a constellation of motivated business units that make their own decisions about everything from how to reward staff to what new businesses to launch. He also treats his end customers – the readers of such publications as Computerworld, PC World and Macworld – with consummate respect. At IDG the quality of content is sacrosanct…”
In 2008, McGovern received the Robert L. Krakoff Lifetime Achievement Award from American Business Media (ABM). In 2005, McGovern received the Magazine Publishers of America’s (MPA) Lifetime Achievement award. In selecting IDG’s Founder and Chairman, MPA said, “Pat McGovern has combined his belief in the power of technology with his vast knowledge of publishing to create a powerhouse company that is a leading global provider of news, information and research about information technology.” His other industry awards include the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Business Publications Editors (ASBPE) and a Top Innovator in Business Publishing Award from BtoB Media Business magazine.
In 1964 Patrick McGovern attended a press conference for RCA Corp., which was launching a new type of random–access memory. He later met with the head of Univac who complained about the lack of good information on the fledgling computer market. These events prompted McGovern to establish a firm that offered an initial research project that other companies could purchase. McGovern recalled in Forbes, "That weekend I wrote up a proposal and sent it out to about 20 companies, not really expecting to hear anything else about it. To my amazement, within ten days I had 12 people send a check for $10,000, half–payment in advance. That was the only capital we actually ever put into the company, those initial customer deposits." International Data Corp. (IDC) was thus born that year.
IDC was initially a market research firm, collecting and selling information with the goal of providing the industry with timely and reliable statistics on information technology. It remained a market research organization for its first three years until McGovern noticed a large untapped market for computer periodicals. He wanted to call his first magazine Computer World News, a title derived from the existing Medical World News. At the last minute, however, he discovered that the name would not fit across the top of the cover. The shorter titled Computerworld began publication in 1967.
Five years later McGovern expanded his Computerworld concept by launching the magazine Shukan Computer in Japan. With a motto of "think globally and act locally," he strove to ensure that the Japanese magazine would not simply be an alternate language copy of its U.S. counterpart. To this aim, he hired a Japanese staff to edit and manage the publication with the goal of satisfying readers through a superior product tailored to the local market.
In 1980 McGovern continued to expand into new markets, establishing the first joint venture between a U.S. company and the People's Republic of China. As IDC grew, it was transformed into the research subsidiary of the newly formed International Data Group (IDG), which in 2001 had more than 20 million publications in China.
There is an international mother company (located in Boston), with a few publications. In every country where IDG is located, the publications are produced on a national level, where there is a lot of knowledge for that particular local market.
IDG publishes over 300 magazines in 85 countries and their five global publication product lines — Computerworld/InfoWorld, CIO, Macworld, Network World, and PC World — account for more than 175 of these titles. McGovern has made billions of dollars from the growth of IDG, which has remained a private company.
Patrick J. McGovern is Founder and Chairman of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading technology media, events and research company, with annual revenues in 2010 of $3.16 billion.
McGovern’s career in publishing began while he was a student at MIT, when he applied for a part-time editorial job at Computers and Automation – the first U.S. computer magazine. He was promptly named associate editor and became associate publisher upon his graduation from MIT in 1959 with a degree in biophysics.
In 1964, with the computer industry still in its infancy, McGovern founded International Data Corporation (IDC), now an IDG subsidiary, to provide the industry with timely and reliable statistics on information technology markets. Three years later, McGovern launched Computerworld, a weekly newspaper dedicated to keeping computer buyers abreast of industry and product news.
Computerworld became IDG’s flagship publication, and in 1972, McGovern began exporting the Computerworld concept, launching Shukan Computer in Japan. By “thinking globally but acting locally,” a strategy that continues to guide IDG’s worldwide expansion, McGovern ensured that the Japanese publication would not be a Computerworld clone. From the start, it was edited and managed by a Japanese staff whose mission was to satisfy readers through a superior editorial product tailored to local market needs.
McGovern has overseen IDG’s launch of more than 300 magazines and newspapers and championed the expansion of IDG’s online network to include more than 450 Web sites worldwide. IDG’s media brands are found in more than 90 countries and include CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld/TechWorld/TecChannel, Macworld, Network World and PC World. IDG produces more than 700 technology-related events in 55 countries, including Macworld Conference & Expo, DEMO, Storage Networking World and IDC Directions. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional and local expertise on technology and industry trends in over 90 countries worldwide.
“Thinking globally” is the heart of McGovern’s growth strategy for IDG and is behind his remarkable track record in identifying and opening new markets. In 1980, McGovern established one of the first joint ventures between a U.S. company and one in the People’s Republic of China, and he has since made more than 100 trips to China. In 1993, McGovern established IDGVC, the first venture capital firm in China.
IDG now has more than 30 publications and 45 Web sites in China and, each year, holds more than 18 expositions and 60 conferences in the world’s fastest growing major IT market. IDGVC Partners has become the leading VC firm in China with over $3 billion under management.
“Acting locally” describes McGovern’s commitment to his people and to a decentralized management structure focused on respect for IDG employees and customers. In April 2004, Inc. magazine named McGovern one of its “25 Entrepreneurs We Love” for “knowing the power of respect.”
“His commitment to decentralization has created a constellation of motivated business units that make their own decisions about everything from how to reward staff to what new businesses to launch. He also treats his end customers – the readers of such publications as Computerworld, PC World and Macworld – with consummate respect. At IDG the quality of content is sacrosanct…”
In 2008, McGovern received the Robert L. Krakoff Lifetime Achievement Award from American Business Media (ABM). In 2005, McGovern received the Magazine Publishers of America’s (MPA) Lifetime Achievement award. In selecting IDG’s Founder and Chairman, MPA said, “Pat McGovern has combined his belief in the power of technology with his vast knowledge of publishing to create a powerhouse company that is a leading global provider of news, information and research about information technology.” His other industry awards include the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Business Publications Editors (ASBPE) and a Top Innovator in Business Publishing Award from BtoB Media Business magazine.
In 1964 Patrick McGovern attended a press conference for RCA Corp., which was launching a new type of random–access memory. He later met with the head of Univac who complained about the lack of good information on the fledgling computer market. These events prompted McGovern to establish a firm that offered an initial research project that other companies could purchase. McGovern recalled in Forbes, "That weekend I wrote up a proposal and sent it out to about 20 companies, not really expecting to hear anything else about it. To my amazement, within ten days I had 12 people send a check for $10,000, half–payment in advance. That was the only capital we actually ever put into the company, those initial customer deposits." International Data Corp. (IDC) was thus born that year.
IDC was initially a market research firm, collecting and selling information with the goal of providing the industry with timely and reliable statistics on information technology. It remained a market research organization for its first three years until McGovern noticed a large untapped market for computer periodicals. He wanted to call his first magazine Computer World News, a title derived from the existing Medical World News. At the last minute, however, he discovered that the name would not fit across the top of the cover. The shorter titled Computerworld began publication in 1967.
Five years later McGovern expanded his Computerworld concept by launching the magazine Shukan Computer in Japan. With a motto of "think globally and act locally," he strove to ensure that the Japanese magazine would not simply be an alternate language copy of its U.S. counterpart. To this aim, he hired a Japanese staff to edit and manage the publication with the goal of satisfying readers through a superior product tailored to the local market.
In 1980 McGovern continued to expand into new markets, establishing the first joint venture between a U.S. company and the People's Republic of China. As IDC grew, it was transformed into the research subsidiary of the newly formed International Data Group (IDG), which in 2001 had more than 20 million publications in China.