What You Can Learn from the IT Providers on the Inc. 5000 List

NOVEMBER 7TH, 2019
Each year, Inc. Magazine lists the top fastest-growing private companies as determined by revenue-percentage increase over the last three years. The top among them don’t grow a few percentage points—they grow tens of thousands of points. These are the elites. The movers and shakers. These are the companies thriving, driving innovation, and hustling to get stuff done. While the list covers everything from advertising to retail and healthcare, there are some IT management and IT services companies. What are their secrets? What are they doing differently? What can you replicate at your company? Let’s look at the top three in each category to find out.

IT Management

The players in the IT management category go beyond IT services. These companies are the ones bundling homebuilt software products and services together to provide end-to-end solutions. Many focus on niche, enterprise markets.

#48 phData

Growth: 5,638%2018 revenue: $9.8 millionOverviewAs the name implies, phData offers data analytics solutions ranging from data platform managed services to data architecture and engineering and even machine learning. Seeing an IT management provider break the top 50 of the Inc. 5000 list is exciting, and its pure focus on data solutions supports the idea that these days, data is a king.

#164 DecisionPoint

Growth: 2,354%2018 revenue: $15.9 millionOverviewDecisionPoint focuses on system optimization for government agencies. Their services cover antiterrorism protection, WMD countering, Department of Defense mission support, health and technical services, disaster recovery, and more. Their steady growth may be a nod to the level of investment the government is putting toward contractors working on national security and cyber-defense.

#182 1Link Technology

Growth: 2,138%2018 revenue: $4.6 millionOverviewWe’ve discussed the war for talent in the IT space. Companies are seeking new ways to find and recruit talent, and 1Link Technology is here to help. They specialize in recruiting IT talent for large enterprises. By blending thorough knowledge of the IT space with decades of recruitment experience, 1Link is making a killing by connecting IT pros with employers.

The Rest of the Top Ten

See the full list here.

IT Services

Most of the companies in this category are traditional IT providers offering managed services, security, networking, and other broad IT services.

#1560 CirrusLabs

Growth: 263%2018 Revenue: $18.4 millionOverviewCirrusLabs provides solutions to power digital transformation. Their offering includes everything from agile software delivery to automation, cloud services, IT management, supply chain management, and more. CirrusLabs boasts large clients like Midas and Big O Tires.

#2192 TA Digital

Growth: 184%2018 revenue: $24.9 millionOverviewTA Digital stands out by focusing on marketing and demand generation, and on helping companies give their customers outstanding customer experiences. They provide digital strategies, experience design, artificial intelligence, and many other solutions to give marketers an edge on the competition.

#3946 2020 Teknology

Growth: 83%2018 revenue: $12.1 millionOverview2020 Teknology offers an array of IT services including managed services, IT infrastructure, unified communications, and so on. Their client list includes big names like AARP, Amtrak, Golden Corral, and Waste Management.

The Rest of the Top Ten

See the full list here.

Conclusion

There are many insights we can glean from the elite IT providers. One is that focusing on a vertical or niche can pay off. The second is that to grow fast, you may want to focus not only on a vertical, but also on building a platform to help those in that vertical from top to bottom. Many niche markets are aching to get their hands on their perfect solution, and many will pay big bucks to get it. Broad services give you mass appeal, but a laser focus can put you in the big leagues.

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