In the region’s best showing ever, eight Atlantic Canadian companies have been named to the prestigious Branham300 – four in the Top 250, and four in the Up and Coming classification.
Ottawa-based Branham Group today released its Branham300 for 2017. It comprises the top 250 ICT companies in the country, the top 25 international companies operating in Canada, and 25 up and coming companies.
Four of the Branham Top 25 Canadian Up and Coming ICT Companies are from Atlantic Canada – recruiting software company Alongside of Moncton; blockchain technology group Blockcrushr Labs of Halifax; social media monitoring company LifeRaft of Halifax; and cybersecurity company Mimir Networks of Sydney.
Last year, the only Atlantic Canadian company on the up-and-coming list was Halifax-based Zora, which made software for landlords.
Mimir Founder and CEO Jim DeLeskie said in an interview that making the list “gives us some national exposure, recognition and external validation that we’re on to something really important. Cybersecurity is something critical to all of us and it’s starting to be recognized more at the national level.”
Added Scott Burke, the CEO of Blockcrushr Labs: “We’re honoured to be carrying the torch for Canadian innovation. And we’re doing our best to use this momentum to move forward.”
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The Branham Top 250, which is based on annual revenue, has four Atlantic Canadian companies for the first time ever. Saint John-based Mariner moved up slightly to the 128th position from No. 131 a year earlier. MOBIA Technology Innovations of Dartmouth fell to No. 140, having been No. 127 in 2016. These were the only two East Coast companies in the Top 250 in the 2016 list.
There were two newcomers on the list this year: Bluedrop Performance Learning of St. John’s placed No. 133, and PQA Testing of Fredericton entered the list at No. 181.
The Branham report shows the reality of the tech community in Atlantic Canada. The region still does not have a representative in the top 100 ICT companies in Canada. In fact, its representatives in the list aren’t moving any closer to the top as the other companies aren’t standing still.
Branham noted that the growth in ICT revenues was exceptional across the country in 2016. The total revenue for the Top 250 was $105.3 billion, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier.
“So we have a new revenue record for Canada's Top 250 technology companies, and a growth rate almost double the previous year,” said Branham on its website.
The report showed that for the most part, the Atlantic Canadian companies on the list are growing strongly. The revenue of PQA Testing, which tests software, rose 33 percent to $11.2 million, while that of Mariner, whose main product is video software, increased 28 percent to $28.2 million. A producer of training systems, Bluedrop recorded a revenue increase of 17 percent to $28.4 million in 2016.
