Pulse:
A VARBusiness 500 Snapshot
Key trends,
facts & interpretation you need to run your
business
By
Tanzina Vega
and Marilyn
O'Hara, VARBusiness
VARBusiness, Fri. Jun. 10, 2005
From the June 13, 2005 VARBusiness
Talk about an exciting 12 months for this
year's VARBusiness 500, our annual ranking of
the top 500 solution providers in North America.
Both the threshold and the ceiling of the list
have risen this year, with revenue ranges from
$18.5 million to $46.2 billion, compared to
$15.3 million and $42.6 billion for last year's
list. Of the 500 firms, 57 reported revenue of
$1 billion or more for their 2004 fiscal year;
that's six more than the previous year. And 10
companies had such a good year that they doubled
in size (measured by 100 percent growth or more
in fiscal year 2004 over fiscal year 2003). So,
who are these ubersuccessful solution providers?
The majority (89 percent) are familiar faces
from last year's list, and more than half (56
percent) are privately held. Of note, 18 percent
list themselves as a division or subsidiary of a
larger company.
There was also a lot of movement on this
year's list. Of the companies on our list last
year, more than half (53 percent) improved their
rankings, while one-third (33 percent) slipped.
But one of the most notable statistics this year
is in the area of mergers and acquisitions:
Thirty-six companies experienced some M&A
activity between January 2004 and April 2005,
compared to just 11 in 2004.--Tanzina Vega &
Marilyn O'Hara |