Software, Biotech Companies Dominate List of Fastest Growing Technology Firms

For the 13th consecutive year, there are more software companies on Deloitte’s (News - Alert) Technology Fast 500 than any other single sector.

In addition, biotechnology companies surged ahead this year, comprising 18 percent of the list, the second most prevalent sector in the 2010 ranking.

Deloitte’s 2010 list of Technology Fast 500 is an annual ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America. Award winners were selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2005 to 2009.

“We congratulate the 2010 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 on this impressive achievement,” said Phil Asmundson, Deloitte’s vice chairman. “Established sectors like software once again have a major presence in the ranking. However, nascent sectors like clean tech and media/entertainment should not be ignored, and we expect to see their numbers continue to grow on future Fast 500 rankings.”

Software winners represent 38 percent of the overall list, making it the most prevalent sector. Varicent Software Incorporated, a Toronto-based provider of incentive compensation and sales performance management software, is the top-ranked software company, placing sixth on the overall list with 40,269 percent growth from 2005 to 2009.

“One of the reasons software companies often grow so quickly is that their infrastructure costs are usually not as significant as other sectors,” said Asmundson. “As companies in other industries learn ways to leverage the disruptive power of cloud computing, they too can benefit from this competitive advantage. Over time we expect to see this trend reflected in our rankings.”

Biotech/pharma is the second most prevalent sector in this year’s rankings, comprising 18 percent of the Technology Fast 500. These 87 companies had an average growth rate of 4,569 percent from 2005 to 2009. The impressive average growth rate of biotech/pharma is demonstrated by having five biotech/pharma companies in the top 10. These companies are Affymax, Inc. (ranked second), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ranked fifth), Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ranked seventh), Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ranked ninth) and Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (ranked 10th).

The percentage of companies from industry sectors are represented on the Technology Fast 500 as follows:

Software (38 percent)

Sector leader: Varicent Software Incorporated

Biotech/Pharma (18 percent)

Sector leader: Affymax, Inc.

Communications/Networking (11 percent)

Sector leader: Hughes Communications (News - Alert), Inc.

Internet (9 percent)

Sector leader: LeadQual, LLC

Medical Equipment (7 percent)

Sector leader: Genoptix, Inc.

Computers/Peripherals (5 percent)

Sector leader: PlumChoice

Clean Tech (4 percent)

Sector leader: Ener1, Inc

Scientific/Technical Instrumentation (3 percent)

Sector leader: Insulet Corporation

Semiconductor (3 percent)

Sector leader: Entropic (News - Alert) Communications, Inc.

Media and Entertainment (2 percent)

Sector leader: SIRIUS XM Radio

The top 10 are:

1. Hughes Communications, Inc.

2. Affymax, Inc.

3. Insulet Corporation

4. Ener1, Inc.

5. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

6. Varicent Software Incorporated

7. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

8. Telanetix (News - Alert), Inc.

9. Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

10. Celldex Therapeutics, Inc.