Sun Microsystems missed the Top 5 by a whisker with a DQ-IDC Empex score of 53.9. Against this, Philips and SAP Labs both scored 54.1. Sun did well on a few crucial parameters—it was rated the third-most preferred company after Infosys and Wipro, with 67% of all IT employees surveyed voting for it. It topped the preferred employer rankings, with the highest number of its own employees—96.7%—saying Sun was their dream company (the remaining 3.3% preferred SAP Labs). Also, 17.9% of Wipro Employees voted for Sun. The company’s ranking was affected among other things by the broad-based affects of recession—over 80% said salary hikes and perks were hit...and because of comparatively low scores on job security, stability and compensation—cited by employees as the most important reasons for joining.