The Top 25 fastest growing techs

Akamai Technologies (AKAM)
Rank: 1
Employees: 1,058
Headquarters: Cambridge, MA
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: How big is online video and music? Big enough to catapult Akamai to the top spot. Internet traffic is surging, and companies like Apple and MTV Networks rely on the content delivery company's technology to get the digital goods to their customers.

iMergent (IIG)
Rank: 2
Employees: 303
Headquarters: Orem, UT
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: Mom-and-pop businesses are increasingly moving online, and iMergent's training programs help them set up shop on the Web. Taking its workshops abroad has helped drive new growth. Financial restatements have added to revenue gains.

Palomar Medical Technologies (PMTI)
Rank: 3 (Previous rank: 6)
Employees: 225
Headquarters: Burlington, MA
Sector(s): Medical

Why it's hot: These days even 20-somethings are opting for a nip and a tuck. That's spiked demand for Palomar's six-figure gear, which uses lasers and light pulses to tighten skin, vaporize blemishes, and remove unsightly body hair.

InterDigital Communications (IDCC)
Rank: 4
Employees: 340
Headquarters: King of Prussia, PA
Sector(s): Software

Why it's hot: Mobile devices are hot, but InterDigital's wireless software patents are hotter. More than half of the company's 2006 revenue came from an intellectual property settlement with Nokia. Now it has Samsung in the crosshairs.

CyberSource (CYBS)
Rank: 5
Employees: 247
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: Online fraud has become a growth industry, to the tune of $3 billion a year. That's meant big bucks for CyberSource, with companies like Google and Yahoo using its secure payment services to protect themselves and their customers.


Perficient (PRFT)
Rank: 6
Employees: 774
Headquarters: Austin, TX
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: CTOs are opening up their wallets again -- and hiring IT consultancies to tell them what to buy. This one went on a spending spree itself, snapping up independent consulting firms like iPath and Vivare to fuel its growth in 2006.

Lam Research (LRCX)
Rank: 7 (Previous rank: 21)
Employees: 2,616
Headquarters: Fremont, CA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: Tiny circuits are big business. Consumer electronics giants Toshiba and Samsung are buying Lam's machines, which can etch circuits as fine as 45 nanometers across for flash memory chips used in mobile phones, iPods, and other gadgets.

Ceradyne (CRDN)
Rank: 8 (Previous rank: 12)
Employees: 2,205
Headquarters: Costa Mesa, CA
Sector(s): Manufacturing, Military

Why it's hot: As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq drag on, orders from the Pentagon are up for Ceradyne's ceramic armor -- lighter than steel, more durable than plastic -- to protect soldiers, helicopters, and other military vehicles.

F5 Networks (FFIV)
Rank: 9 (Previous rank: 18)
Employees: 1,159
Headquarters: Seattle, WA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: Business applications are moving from the PC to the Web, and that means more and more companies are depending on F5's appliances to smooth the transition online by balancing Internet traffic on their corporate servers.

Armor Holdings (AH)
Rank: 10 (Previous rank: 47)
Employees: 8,150
Headquarters: Jacksonville, FL
Sector(s): Manufacturing, Military

Why it's hot: Its labs design high-strength fibers, lightweight ceramics, and bulletproof polymers for tougher helmets and vehicles. Government spending on new military vehicles beefed up business, as did the purchase of manufacturer Stewart & Stevenson.

InVentiv Health (VTIV)
Rank: 11
Employees: 5,200
Headquarters: Somerset, NJ
Sector(s): Medical

Why it's hot: Helping drug companies with things like staffing, running clinical trials, and managing sales data added more than $200 million to InVentiv's revenue last year.

Apple (AAPL)
Rank: 12 (Previous rank: 3)
Employees: 21,500
Headquarters: Cupertino, CA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: Apple followed its blockbuster iPod line with the Intel-powered MacBook, whose Windows compatibility revived Apple's laptop sales. Next up: the iPhone.


ValueClick (VCLK)
Rank: 13 (Previous rank: 5)
Employees: 1,072
Headquarters: Westlake Village, CA
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: The online ad network's sites had 132 million unique visitors last year in the United States alone. Its acquisition of Shopping.net and Fastclick bulked up revenue.


Varian Semiconductor (VSEA)
Rank: 14 (Previous rank: 44)
Employees: 1,627
Headquarters: Gloucester, MA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: The semiconductor equipment maker uses an ion-blasting technology that's increasingly popular with chipmakers. Sales were strong worldwide.

LifeCell (LIFC)
Rank: 15 (Previous rank: 8)
Employees: 335
Headquarters: Branchburg, NJ
Sector(s): Medical

Why it's hot: Revenue from its AlloDerm product -- modified human tissue used to reconstruct breasts and repair hernias -- jumped 62 percent in 2006.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH)
Rank: 16 (Previous rank: 28)
Employees: 38,800
Headquarters: Teaneck, NJ
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: Cognizant handles complex IT tasks like setting up data warehouses. Meanwhile, a growing cadre of India-based programmers is helping to drive revenue.

Itron (ITRI)
Rank: 17 (Previous rank: 97)
Employees: 2,400
Headquarters: Liberty Lake, WA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: As utilities build smart grids to cut power usage, they're relying on Itron and its wireless smart meters to collect and analyze gas and electricity data.

Digital River (DRIV)
Rank: 18 (Previous rank: 83)
Employees: 1,086
Headquarters: Eden Prairie, MN
Sector(s): Business Services

Why it's hot: With consumers increasingly downloading antiviral software, Digital River ensures that programs stream smoothly and securely for companies like McAfee.

Hologic (HOLX)
Rank: 19 (Previous rank: 19)
Employees: 1,617
Headquarters: Bedford, MA
Sector(s): Medical

Why it's hot: Its medical-imaging equipment scans for breast cancer and osteoporosis. An aging population and the need to replace obsolete machines are driving growth.

Cymer (CYMI)
Rank: 20
Employees: 975
Headquarters: San Diego, CA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: Cymer's light-source products are used in lasers that etch patterns onto semiconductors. Customers like Canon and Nikon increased their orders last year.

MKS Instruments (MKSI)
Rank: 21
Employees: 2,960
Headquarters: Wilmington, MA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: Its products, which control gases and static in manufacturing, are used by makers of everything from chips and flat-panel displays to DVDs and solar panels.

Ansoft (ANST)
Rank: 22 (Previous rank: 29)
Employees: 302
Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Sector(s): Software

Why it's hot: Ansoft's software helps automate repetitive aspects of designing computer chips, cell phones, and networking equipment -- all growing industries.

Rochester Medical (ROCM)
Rank: 23
Employees: 213
Headquarters: Stewartville, MN
Sector(s): Medical

Why it's hot: Hospitals rely on its catheters, and Rochester added incontinence products. It also scored $39 million in legal settlements involving anti-infective catheters.

American Science & Engineering (ASEI)
Rank: 24
Employees: 283
Headquarters: Billerica, MA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: The company's scanners can detect a bomb in a suitcase or an illegal immigrant in a truck. These days governments are willing to pay big bucks for both.

American Science & Engineering (ASEI)
Rank: 24
Employees: 283
Headquarters: Billerica, MA
Sector(s): Electronics

Why it's hot: The company's scanners can detect a bomb in a suitcase or an illegal immigrant in a truck. These days governments are willing to pay big bucks for both.