Who really benefits from the Top 300? You.   |  March 9, 2007  

Backbone is once again very pleased to present the Branham300, the premiere ranking of Canada’s tech companies. The lists in this issue are a valuable resource and field guide that can help Canadian firms compete by ramping up the backbone of their businesses.

Branham began producing this list 14 years ago, and one of my early encounters with it actually occurred in the lobby of a large Canadian tech provider. I had arrived a few minutes early for a meeting and spotted the list framed and up on the wall. This company had been recognized that year for its revenue performance and it wanted everyone to know of this accomplishment. This drove home for me the importance companies place on this type of recognition.

I know many readers will eagerly flip through this issue, looking for their companies, and that these pages will end up framed and hung on many walls. The results will also be linked from corporate Web sites, mentioned in newsletters and press releases and extra magazine copies will be ordered for promo purposes. Readers will also check the stats of their competition.

The Branham300 is also a useful portrait of the overall tech industry, and many general business decision makers will refer to it as they search for a new IT security provider, a business intelligence tool or a VoIP solution. To take that last one as an example, any Canadian business wishing to implement an IP telephony solution will have to take a good look at Vancouver’s Verb Exchange; the company is in the number one spot on the Movers and Shakers list with a 202 per cent jump in revenues over 2005. Obviously the company has a compelling story to tell potential customers.

Let me also recommend a careful perusal of the Top 25 Up and Comers list (page 47). These are companies that have not yet scored big revenue bucks but are expected to be the headliners of 2007. A look at the market segments represented on this list point out some future directions for IT in Canada. For example, in our annual Backbone predictions issue (January/February 2007), we suggested this may be the year IP TV finally gets going, so the inclusion of Mariner Partners as an Up and Comer is interesting. It is also noteworthy that many companies are involved in health care delivery, an issue that consistently ranks among the most important for Canadians.

In fact, the information in the Branham lists becomes even more critical in light of the recent Net Impact study from Cisco (see page 12). The study concluded that Canadian small and medium enterprises are beefing up IT investments to make their systems more competitive with those at larger companies. The primary target of these investments, according to Cisco, is building systems that better serve customers.

Some further shelf life this issue receives is from job seekers and HR departments, prospecting salespeople, venture capital firms, independent investors, bankers, start-ups and any forward-thinking innovation addicts.

Thinking back of my early encounter with the Branham300—seeing the list in that lobby—I’ve seen it referred to on many Web sites, computer screens and company press releases and marketing materials. This week we’ll even promote this issue on a digital outdoor signboard in Toronto’s downtown core (similar to our cover). We feel our business audience is so broad that we want as many of you as possible to know about Backbone and the Branham300. The ranking has sure come a long way from lobby to billboard and we look forward to providing you with many more years of insight into Canada’s tech community.

Steve Dietrich
Publisher
sdietrich@backbonemag.com

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