2005 was a Tumultuous Year

Written by Adnan Rahman

Introduction

2005 was a tumultuous year, swinging from hurricanes to earthquakes and from Gomery to gun registry, but it was also a year that showed a continuous upward trend in the Canadian information technology (IT) sector.

Industry Canada statistics correlate with the results of the Branham300 companies: since 2001 the GDP of Canada’s high technology companies grew by 18 per cent, while the Canadian economy’s output climbed by 12.7 per cent.

Canada’s top IT companies produced approximately $5.5 billion more in revenue in 2005, compared to the results of the previous Branham300—a 10.31 per cent year-over-year increase. The growth in revenues can be attributed to the positive performance of many of our returning companies, as well as the addition of new organizations to the list; 192 companies from last year’s Top 250 are returning, while 58 are new (see bar graph on next page).

When examining this year’s Movers and Shakers list, it is apparent several companies had outstanding earnings in 2005. Finally, the average revenue growth rate experienced by a single Branham300 company in 2005 was 33.75 per cent, up slightly from 32.19 per cent last year. From these statistics, we can clearly see Canada’s IT sector is greatly contributing to the national economy.

Mergers and acquisitions played a key role in changing the face of this year’s list, causing certain companies to refrain from participating. Some of the previous participants were acquired by foreign companies that would not allow the disclosure of financial information, while other firms were in the process of being acquired and could therefore not participate. Some of the most notable M&As include Brainhunter’s acquisition of AJJA Information Technology Consultants, Eastman Kodak’s acquisition of Creo, and Golden Gate Capital’s agreement to purchase Geac Computer. In addition, some of this year’s companies have started to realize revenues from 2004 acquisitions, creating higher revenues and subsequent growth figures. For example, Manitoba Telecom Service is now known as MTS Allstream and its revenues are based upon sales related to Internet and wireless phone service provision. Charon Systems, Nexxlink Technologies and CSB Systems have been rolled into what is now Bell Business Solutions. In addition to changes in company names, certain M&As have caused companies to shift their designation from being a Canadian to a multinational company. For example, Algorithmics and Cedara Software were both acquired by foreign companies. 

From a geographic perspective, we see most companies are based in Ontario, although we have noticed a steady influx of companies from British Columbia and Alberta. Quebec and British Columbia produced almost identical percentages in this composition, while Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, combined, make up one per cent of the list. In an effort to create the best national picture, Branham Group contacted organizations and associations across Canada, in order to ensure companies from all provinces have a chance to be tracked. We also see many of the top performers are again companies that serve consumers, the xSP or x-Service Providers that offer Internet connection and wireless phone services. Reports released in 2005 indicate 59 per cent of Canadian households own at least one mobile telephone and 60 per cent have an Internet connection. Forty-three per cent have high-speed access. This shows technology continues to be an integral part of everyday life, and it is no surprise four of the top 10 companies are xSPs.

In relation to high-technology infrastructure, Canada just celebrated 20 years of wireless technology. During the legal battle that ensued in 2005, U.S. government users of RIM’s BlackBerry admitted communication and performance would be hindered if the product were taken away from them. This type of demand for wireless communication has made the sub-sector one of the primary contributors to the growth of the ICT manufacturing sector.

Significant trends

The top issues for Canadian IT companies in 2005 included Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), outsourcing and healthcare ICT. VoIP is seeing a definite surge in popularity as it challenges the conventional means of telephone communication—especially when it comes to long-distance calls. As VoIP technologies continue to improve, issues surrounding them become opportunities for companies. For example, we already see companies offering related hardware and VoIP security products. Next, outsourcing unfortunately has become a term synonymous with job losses in North America as high technology companies look towards Asia for less expensive delivery models. Interestingly, Canada will play a large role in nearshore outsourcing in the years to come. With a growing workforce and cultural similarities to the U.S. and Europe, companies are looking to Canada as an option.

While industries from banking to retail have embraced ICT, healthcare has lagged behind. Several of the Branham300 companies are involved in healthcare ICT and this is especially important as we see a growing number of elderly people and increased need for interconnected systems. Companies like Imaging Dynamics are creating alternatives to X-ray film media. Branham found healthcare ICT is changing, driven by concerns about patient safety and escalating healthcare costs. "We have reached the tipping point in terms of eHealth deployment," said Michael Martineau, project lead for Branham's annual assessment of the state of eHealth in Canada. Martineau states the emphasis has shifted from 'why eHealth?' to 'how do we implement eHealth?'

Most of the Branham Top 10 companies have remained the same as last year, with a few position changes. Nortel Networks, Celestica and BCE remain the Top 3 Canadian IT companies just as they were last year. Rogers Wireless Communications has seen a jump from number six last year to number four, beating TELUS and CGI who are now in positions six and five respectively. ATI Technologies remains at seven, while Shaw Communications and Cognos (positions 10 and nine respectively) were overtaken by Research in Motion (number eight and a newcomer to the Top 10) after the wireless solution giant increased revenues by 127 per cent.

Top 25 IT Multinationals Operating Within Canada

Multinationals are a critical component of the fabric of the Canadian ICT marketplace. In addition to employing thousands of people, these organizations provide a different conduit into the global ICT scene. Of the Top 25 IT Multinationals, there were five new entries on the list this year along with considerable movement by some of the key players on our annual ranking.

IBM Canada and HP Canada retained their first and second positions respectively. With the divestiture of IBM’s PC business to Lenovo and with a few other acquisitions it was able to avoid a decrease in overall revenue in Canada. IBM Canada continues to contribute immensely to the Canadian ICT scene and delivers important elements of IBM solutions that are used globally. Given its world product mandates, the company exports approximately $1.7 billon in revenue.

HP Canada experienced double-digit growth of 11 per cent, four points greater than the seven per cent growth the year before. HP Canada spent last year focused on implementing its strategy and had considerable success in verticals like healthcare, with agreements like the Mount Sinai Infrastructure Solutions and Services contract.

The next four players, Microsoft, Xerox, Cisco and EDS, all changed ranking. Microsoft and Cisco moved up positions but Xerox and EDS moved down.

Microsoft’s move from fifth to third was caused by a number of factors. The consumer sector has been growing faster than the traditional enterprise markets and the ISV community continues to increase its utilization of Microsoft platforms. Cisco’s Canadian revenues grew by 25 per cent, in stark contrast to EDS’ decrease of 10 per cent. However, these four companies have historically been very close in the ranking with only $116 million in revenue between them.

The new entries on the list this year are Ajilon Canada Inc. (13th place), Allegis Group Canada (19th), Algorithmics (20th), Cedara Software (22nd) and Keane (24th). Ajilon and Allegis demonstrate the continued growth in the IT staffing sector in Canada with 20 per cent and 46 per cent growth respectively. Keane also demonstrated a solid 25 per cent growth in building an impressive application development services capability centre in Halifax and a secondary location in the Toronto area.

Computer Science Corp. (CSC) maintained its positioning as 10th on the list but suffered an overall reduction of revenue by 21 per cent. The managed services business often suffers a long sales cycle and we believe CSC’s revenue decline this year may be attributed to this.

Symantec experienced superlative growth of 37 per cent but still dropped from the 17th to 18th position. This high growth is reflective of a market that is very focused on security issues; the drop in ranking is a result of new companies being added to the list this year.

Computer Associates also demonstrated a solid 34 per cent increase in revenues and a move up four positions to 14th on the list. CA has made several acquisitions over the year and the effect of this was evident in Canada as well. CA global management changes are also having a dramatic impact on putting the company on a path of renewal.

Overall, the total revenue generated by the Top 25 Multinationals increased by 5.77 per cent over last year.

Top 10 Canadian xSP Companies

Canadian x-service providers (i.e. application, managed, wireless and Internet service providers) accounted for 13 per cent of the Top 250 list with 36 entrants.

Telecommunication and cable companies have been the strongest performers in this area, as they serve the largest number of customers with the most in-demand services. Internet use has increased noticeably in Canada, with an additional surge seen in subscriptions to high-speed Internet use. This comes as no surprise since bandwidth speeds have increased while prices have become more affordable. An example of this is the only new entrant into the Top 10 xSP list, Cogeco Cable of Burlington, Ont. Cogeco saw a $17.6 million year-over-year increase in sales specifically from increased Internet service provision. Rogers Wireless Communications had a great year, increasing revenues by 43 per cent to $3.99 billion, aided by its acquisition of Call-Net. Another noteworthy change from last year is the appearance of MTS Allstream, the result of a merger between Manitoba Telecom Services and Allstream.

In fact, the total revenues for the Top 10 xSP companies have increased by about $1.31 billion from 2004 to 2005, a 7.99 per cent year-over-year growth for this group of top companies. A comparison of this rate to the growth rate of all other xSP companies on this year’s Top 250 list shows the spotlight should not be solely on the top 10 players. The total revenue of all other xSP companies has increased by $67.6 million, representing a notable 13.78 per cent increase over 2004. While smaller companies may have smaller revenues than those in the spotlight, they are growing at more than twice the rate of large xSPs.

Top 25 Up and Comers

This year’s Up and Comers show great promise with their mixture of innovative products and services, as well as their determination to shine amongst the competition. The companies were chosen based upon their offerings, niche markets, competitiveness and 2005 financial success.

These companies operated in diverse spaces such as wireless technology, search engine performance, Internet security, mobile software development and video gaming. As in last year’s list, Ontario was a major contributor, producing 76 per cent of the companies (the same as 2004). However, notable changes include companies from British Columbia composing 16 per cent of the total (up from four per cent last year), the lack of Quebec companies, and the introduction of a wireless technology innovator from Prince Edward Island.

Top 20 Movers and Shakers

The Movers and Shakers list highlights the companies that increased their rank by the highest number of spaces, in comparison to last year’s list. This year, we approached the discussion of the Movers and Shakers differently.

First, we looked at the traditional list, ranked by the greatest positive gain in ranking position (refer to the Movers and Shakers Table). In addition, we looked at companies that have had the highest year-over-year revenue growth, as there are several noteworthy organizations that are new to the Branham300 and therefore did not have a previous ranking. Companies not on either list still made a notable impact in the IT marketplace this year. Companies like Macadamian Software Engineering and iVedha both had 137 per cent revenue growth rates, while Research in Motion generated 127 per cent growth that increased its 2004 revenues by $880 million.

Imaging Dynamics Company of Calgary ranked as the top Mover and Shaker this year, climbing 71 positions to 81 on the Top 250. This was a tremendous year for the company, which saw record revenues and profitability strengthen its brand recognition as one of the leaders in digital radiography. The company provides solutions to create radiographic images in a digital format that is steadily replacing traditional film-based images. This is quite important to healthcare ICT as modern electronic medical networks utilize this digital format.

Named one of the Top 25 Up and Comers last year, PlateSpin of Toronto has continued to make a name for itself and has jumped 62 positions to number 181. A provider of solutions geared towards the consolidation, optimization and measurement of server resources, the company achieved milestones during these early years such as its 500th customer and year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 350 per cent.

ISACSOFT of Montreal experienced about 92 per cent year-over-year revenue growth, according to Branham estimates, which moved it up 56 positions to number 105 on the Top 250 list. A provider of business software solutions as well as IT and systems integration consulting, ISACSOFT restructured itself with a new business plan in 2004 that paid off by helping the company return to profitability through a refocused revenue model.

Organizational restructuring also helped to change the operations of Toronto’s Dexit, an innovator in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) area. The company moved 57 positions to be ranked number 187 overall.

Dexit has achieved more than 230 per cent year-over-year revenue growth with its 50,000 customers across 500 merchant locations by offering a unique product/service combination that allows customers to purchase certain low-cost items with an RFID tag.

Amidst heavy competition, Toronto’s VoiceGenie saw sales increases of approximately 64 per cent in comparison to 2004. VoiceGenie’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform has been deployed in many locations to handle approximately five million IVR calls per day for customers like AT&T Verizon and Tata Telecom. Call centre-related solutions have become a hot market in 2005 and will continue to be in demand worldwide—especially with the trend toward nearshore and offshore outsourcing.

Several additional companies merit mention because of high growth rates.

MakePlain of Markham, Ont., saw the highest revenue change of all the Branham300 companies—significant from an Up and Comer. A consultancy for business intelligence and data warehousing, the company went from revenues of $980,000 to $7,000,000 in one year by starting out with planning projects that then turned into multi-million dollar design contracts for some of Canada’s top companies.

Recently, the company signed deals with IBM Canada to help it create a data mart solution for an elementary school board in British Columbia.

With the immense effect of wireless communication products on Canada’s economy, companies like ZIM of Ottawa are making strides in developing a series of applications and services around Short Message Service (SMS), widely used as a low-cost and fast communication medium. The company’s software solutions and Application Service Provider (ASP) capabilities enable two-way chat between mobile and computer users, the forwarding of e-mail to mobile phones, Microsoft Outlook and Excel functionality for mobile phones, as well as offering multi-platform database languages.

Homeserve Technologies of Toronto saw large revenue gains for 2005 as well, growing from revenues of $2 million to $8.6 million—330 per cent growth. The company provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Credit Adjudication and Relocation services through software developed for the real-estate, banking and relocation industries. A significant portion of this year’s revenue was generated by the acquisition of ICON, an employee relocation technology platform developed by Royal LePage Relocation Services. ICON manages multiple aspects of employee relocation as well as the management of client relocation policies and procedures—all with real-time capabilities.

Other notable companies that were not on the Movers and Shakers list include QuIC Financial Technologies of Vancouver and March Networks of Ottawa, which showed 300 per cent and 262 per cent year-over-year revenue growth, respectively.

Top 25 Canadian Software Companies

The Top 25 Canadian software companies had a total revenue growth of 18.3 per cent, down from the 23 per cent revenue growth seen last year. Total revenues for the Top 25 list as a whole increased from $2.87 billion in 2004 to $3.4 billion in 2005.

In relation, the total revenues for all software companies on the Top 250 grew by 17 per cent from 2004. Overall, the top entrants have remained the same: Cognos, Geac, Open Text, Hummingbird and Constellation Software continue to appear on the Top 5 list, with positions unchanged from last year. In addition, nine companies who are new to the Branham300 are now appearing on the Top 25 Software list.

Ontario-based companies continue to dominate, but the increase in Quebec-based companies has seen Ontario’s complement decrease from 80 per cent last year to 72 per cent this year. Subsequently, Quebec now accounts for 24 per cent of companies, up from 16 per cent last year. British Columbia remains unchanged at four per cent. When we take a look at all of this year’s software companies on the Top 250, we see that British Columbia and Alberta have made greater contributions this year to the total makeup, with 17 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

The top five companies in this category continue their strong activity in the IT world.

Cognos of Ottawa continues to be Canada’s number one software company, growing 21 per cent over the year to earn $962 million. Recently, it has announced partnerships with IBS and Similarity Systems that will continue to strengthen its position as a worldwide leader in business intelligence. 2005 was a very important year for Geac Computer, whose shareholders have recently approved its acquisition by U.S.-based Golden Gate Capital. Thus, Geac will be appearing for the last time in the Top 250 as efforts are made to improve the company’s operations through this acquisition. It is reported Geac will be split into two separate companies: one to handle industry-specific solutions, the other geared towards financial applications.

Nonetheless, Geac managed to earn more than $500 million this year. Enterprise Content Management solution provider Open Text had revenue gains of 43 per cent in 2005. The company made several advancements in the year, which included a new ECM platform, e-mail management solutions, a new BPM solution and new content-archiving software.

Systems Xcellence of Milton, Ont., is one of the nine new companies to appear on the list. It provides healthcare transaction processing solutions geared towards the North American pharmaceutical industry and has grown by 59 per cent in 2005.

Offerings include retail pharmacy management systems, point-of-sale systems, remote distribution and a host of other provider services in addition to the company’s suite of pharmacy administrative solutions. CIMTEK provides solutions for complex design and testing for electronics manufacturers. Traditionally focused on the automotive industry, the company has expanded to OEMs in the consumer electronic manufacturing area. With customers like Microsoft, DuPont, Honda and Celestica, the company has increased revenues by 98 per cent to a total of $35 million in 2005. Belzberg Technologies of Toronto, a provider of electronic equity and options trading software, grew by 24 per cent. In 2005, the company developed a technology that integrates its trading software with market data directly from all major North American stock and option exchanges. This caused a significant jump in the number of electronic options trading through its software, causing record results in the first quarter of 2005. Other new companies on the list include Avotus, Longview Solutions, Workstream, TECSYS, Versatile Systems and GIRO.

Software companies account for 38 per cent of all Top 250 companies, making them the largest category by number of companies in the Branham300. This continues to show Canada as a leader in software development. While the percentage of software companies has decreased from 47 per cent last year, the increase in total revenues generated by this category shows size does not always matter when looking at the overall success of a category.

Top 25 Canadian IT Professional Services Companies

The Top 25 Canadian IT Professional Services companies continued to perform strongly over 2005. This category is composed of companies which provide services to IT and IT/ICT-related organizations. Many of the noted companies are from the IT staffing field, an area that continues to grow with the demand for skilled technical workers such as programmers, project managers, engineers, etc. Other companies are IT consultancies that provide both technical and business aid to organizations, which can range from complex design and integrations solutions to low-level software development outsourcing.

Accounting for about 25 per cent of the Top 250 list, the Professional Services category has decreased slightly from last year’s total makeup of 29 per cent.

Industry Canada finds the GDP of the ICT Services industry in Canada (including software services) has grown by 15 per cent from the end of 2001 to the third quarter of 2005, compared to 12 per cent growth in all Canadian services industries. The companies on the Top 25 list and the remainder of the Professional Services companies have shown a uniquely connected growth rate.

Since the Top 25 Professional Services companies contributed to the majority of the total revenue for the category (with CGI Group alone composing 48.5 per cent of the total Professional Services revenue), we have analyzed the year-over-year revenue growth rate of the Top 25 Professional Services companies compared to the growth rate of all other Professional Services companies (see graph). This way, we see how the Top 25’s rate of 17.24 per cent is very close to the growth rate of all the other Professional Services companies (17.02 per cent). It is evident that the smaller companies did just as well as the larger companies, in terms of annual revenue growth.

While Ontario maintains a 52 per cent majority in the composition of the Top 25 list, Alberta is second with 16 per cent, while British Columbia and Quebec have equal contributions of 12 per cent each. Nova Scotia has two of its companies on the list, making up eight per cent of the total. The province has lately been recognized as a growing target for nearshore outsourcing and will most definitely play a larger role in the forthcoming years.

This sub-list has changed in some ways, but the leaders have remained similar. The The Top 5 companies are the same as last year and in the same respective positions, with the exception of Compugen, which took the number five spot previously occupied by Ajilon Consulting. (Ajilon is now listed as a Top 25 Multinational organization because of its foreign parent company.) In fact, Compugen showed the highest year-over-year growth of all the Top 25 Professional Services companies with a 45 per cent growth rate. Polar Bear Corporate Education Solutions is second in growth with 39 per cent and AJJA Information Technology Consultants followed closely at 38 per cent. This is also the final year that AJJA will be appearing on the Branham300 since it has been acquired by Brainhunter. Brainhunter had a very busy year as well, dealing with multiple acquisitions and the growing demand for IT staffing services. With the acquisitions made this year, Brainhunter stated that pro forma revenues would have been close to $160 million, but these revenues will be realized in the Branham300 next year.

While the annual growth percentages for the Top 25 companies compared to all other companies are quite similar, we see that the top five growth companies amongst all Professional Services companies are at the bottom tier, with 2005 revenues between $4 million and $7 million, demonstrating how small service businesses have had a successful year. The top three companies continue to show stability as being the solid leaders for yet another year with CGI Group growing by 17 per cent, MacDonald, Detwiler and Associates growing by 12 per cent and xwave (a subsidiary of Aliant) growing by four per cent.

 

Top 10 Canadian IT Security Companies

Canadian IT Security solutions and consulting companies have seen notable growth. Last year, total revenues on this list were almost $122 million, while this year the number is more than $161 million, a 32 per cent increase. When comparing total revenues to 2004, we see an increase of 7.26 per cent. This shows that the addition of five new companies to this list has significantly increased the total revenue standings.

Once again, we see Ontario-based companies making up a large portion of the list—50 per cent this year. Quebec companies account for 30 per cent of the total, while British Columbia and Alberta make up the remaining 20 per cent.

Examining this year’s top companies we see the breadth of IT security and the various issues that surround different niche markets. St-Laurent, Que.’s Memory Experts International is the number one company this year, with revenues of $70 million—an increase of 27 per cent from last year. The company is involved in the creation of highly secure storage devices ranging from portable USB devices to memory modules and hardware subsystems, focusing attention on the hardware side of electronic security. Quiettouch is a computer services provider that tackles security issues from another perspective. The company integrates custom security solutions into its networking projects to offer clients managed network virus protection, backup strategies, disaster recovery and firewall implementation. As an Application Service Provider, the company shows how the ASP model tackles security issues in different ways than various other vendors. Graycon Group from Alberta offers its security services mostly to companies in Central and Western Canada. Growing revenues over 2005 by 25 per cent, this small consultancy focuses on network infrastructure-related security through analysis (risk management and planning), implementation and monitoring.

2005 has also seen the appearance of several security companies on the Top 25 Up and Comers list. One of this year’s Up and Comers, The Herjavec Group is a network security company that increased its sales by 34 per cent to earn a total of $5.5 million since its inception in 2003.

VoIP security will be a very important issue as the convergence of the telephone and the Internet progresses. Also, security threats do not decrease as time goes by; if anything, new threats are uncovered each year.

Top 10 Canadian Wireless Solution Providers

2005 has been an eventful year for wireless solutions companies on the Branham300. Total revenues for the top 10 companies were $1.9 billion, up from last year’s $1.158 billion.

The current group of companies generated $1.2 billion in 2004, which would indicate the group as a whole grew by 59.7% over 2005. However, since Research in Motion contributes most to the revenue composition and revenue growth (with its dramatic 127% year-over-year sales growth), we compare the revenue activities of all other Top 10 companies except RIM. By doing this, we see 2004 revenues were $507 million, while 2005 shows a 32 per cent decrease to $343 million. While wireless solutions and technology have been very important, in 2005 six out of 10 companies are showing revenue decreases.

Sierra Wireless of Richmond, B.C., has not had a great year, with a 52 per cent decline in revenues, but has still managed to keep the number two spot with $118 million in sales.

Certicom had a one-time contract with the U.S. National Security Agency in 2004 that brought its revenues up significantly that year. In 2005, Certicom stated its 2004 revenues to Branham including and excluding the NSA contract. Since the former is the official statement of earnings, the company had apparent revenue declines of 67 per cent, from $40 million to $13.5 million. When looking at all revenue except the NSA contract, revenues have actually increased by 20 per cent in 2005. Also, Redknee, Zi, Sirit and SR Telecom all saw revenue decreases in 2005.

In addition to the revenue decreases experienced by many of these wireless companies, 2005 saw Research in Motion in a heavy legal battle over U.S. patent issues. While this was a very challenging year for the company, not only did it manage to increase earnings dramatically, but was also able to show how one of Canada’s flagship wireless solutions, the BlackBerry, was being used in multiple applications. For example, U.S. government employees at all levels were using BlackBerrys not only to communicate on work-related issues but also as an integral part of emergency response plans. The BlackBerry is additionally used in U.S. healthcare ICT, financial and natural gas industries, showing that a lack of service could hinder many parts of the American economy.

Despite these results in 2005, wireless companies like ZIM, Webtech Wireless and Versatile Mobile Systems increased sales in 2005. With advancements in RFID, convergence initiatives for VoIP and the next-generation development of WiMAX, the future still looks bright for this innovative sector.

Top 25 ICT Hardware and Infrastructure Companies

Canada’s hardware and infrastructure companies had a great year, increasing total year-over-year revenue output by six per cent. 2005 revenues of $27.9 billion show a $1.6 billion increase over the revenues generated in 2004. ICT hardware and infrastructure companies include manufacturers of IT/ICT hardware such as Nortel Networks (which still holds the number one spot on this sub-list and on the Top 250), as well as Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) outsourcers such as Celestica Inc., and companies that are involved with the design and deployment of IT infrastructure like NexInnovations.

This category accounts for 16 per cent of the Branham Top 250—an increase from last year’s composition of 12 per cent. Since Nortel Networks, Celestica and ATI Technologies (the top three in this category) contribute $21.96 billion in revenues, we look at the bottom tier companies (i.e. all Top 250 ICT hardware and infrastructure companies that were outside of the Top 25 list) to see how they compared to the Top 25. All other ICT hardware and infrastructure companies on the Top 250, that did not make the Top 25, generated revenues of $174.65 million in 2005, which results in a 20.31 per cent increase from this group’s 2004 revenue performance. Once again, we see smaller businesses are generating higher growth percentages when compared to larger Canadian companies. The average year-over-year change in these companies was 43 per cent, boosted by the performance seen in RFID innovator Dexit, which grew by 235 per cent to $5.9 million, and Tranzeo Wireless which grew by 85 per cent from 2004. Tranzeo is new to the list and specializes in wireless point-to-point and point-to-multipoint solutions.

Returning to the Top 25 list, we have seen some mixed results, even though total revenues increased. While Nortel Networks and ATI Technologies increased by 13 per cent and 11 per cent respectively, other leaders like Celestica and NexInnovations decreased by two per cent and 14 per cent respectively. This shows the top ICT hardware and infrastructure manufacturers performed more strongly than ICT infrastructure service companies. One of the best examples of this in 2005 is Aastra Technologies, a manufacturer of products and systems for communication network access; its revenues increased by approximately 90 per cent, moving ahead two spots in the Top 25 ICT hardware and infrastructure list.

Into 2006

Canada's IT companies have had another great year, showing the world that our nation remains an important hub of activity in the global network of high technology. With constant innovations in a multitude of fields, a highly skilled workforce, and positive revenue growth trends, Canadian companies continue to shine as leaders in IT. As we delve into 2006, the members of this year's edition of the Branham300 have shown that they are ready to deal with any type of challenge. This is seemingly fit for an industry that has emerged from a very turbulent past to show the world that the Information Age plays a large role in everyday life – and will continue to do so as technology advances. The Branham Group congratulates all of the companies who have helped to make Canada one of the world's technological hotspots and have allowed us to depict the national Information Technology landscape in the most accurate manner.

The Branham300 listing, online application process, associated statistics, and the creation of this article were combined efforts of the Branham Group Inc. with important contributions from: Patti Saulnier, Sharon Hill, Andrew Bisson, Christian Gravelle, Adnan Rahman and Wayne Gudbranson.

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