Aberdeen Group has announced results of its global survey into the influence of tech companies on the market over the past year.

However, researchers didn't go around calling random people and stopping them on the street to get a picture of a company's importance, they actually took the time to talk to people that matter. They asked 1,607 executives from 36 countries to name the top three tech outfits that had the most influence on their own businesses over the year.

As executives usually know what they are talking about, list top of the list is dominated by tech heavyweights such as Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, HP, SAP, Dell and Cisco. Intel also joined the list and ranked 19, up from 29 last year. Lenovo is also a new name on the list, jumping to 20 from 43 in 2008.

Here's the list, and don't expect to find any graphics companies or game publishers on it. Executives are serious people, mostly. We are a bit surprised at the lack of phone makers and telcos, apart from AT&T, but executives supposedly know better than mere mortals.

Anyway, here's the list.

1. Microsoft
2. IBM
3. Oracle Corp.
4. Hewlett Packard
5. SAP
6. Dell Inc.
7. Cisco Systems
8. Salesforce.com
9. Google
10. EMC
11. Sun Microsystems
12. Apple
13. Infor
14. Sage
15. Siemens
16. RIM
17. Adobe
18. AT&T
19. Intel
20. Lenovo
21. Accenture
22. TATA Consultancy
23. Lawson
24. Motorola
25. ADP