15 Biggest Canadian Software Companies

Published on February 7, 2021 at 6:43 am by Ty Haqqi in Lists, News

In this article we are going to list the 15 biggest Canadian software companies.

The world is evolving at a fast pace, with countries all over the world making strides in the software and Information Technology market. Using software products to fulfill daily tasks such as getting up early in the morning or tracking your meal’s calories has become far more common than it used to be. In fact, for some, it has become almost essential. We rely on tools and applications developed by software companies from the moment we wake up to the moment we sleep.

Therefore, the success of software companies and the thriving software industry should come as no surprise. According to data collected by Statista, revenue of the software market is expected to reach over 580 billion dollars in 2021. By 2025, this number is expected to reach even higher, resulting in revenue of over 700 billion dollars. Fields within the industry such as cloud services, big data, and Internet of Things are expected to be among the hot areas of the software industry in the coming years as well.

Software itself is a broad term, encompassing many different products designed for different tasks. There are two main classifications of software, which are System Software and Application Software. System software is a computer program designed to work as a platform for other software, while taking care of the computer’s hardware and internal functions. Examples of system software are Operating Systems, such as Windows by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and IOS by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) , or Utility Software, such as McAfee Antivirus by McAfee (NASDAQ: MCFE). Application software, on the other hand, is software that is made with the intent to help users perform specific tasks. Most people know these as “apps” which can be downloaded on mobile phones or desktop computers. Examples of recognizable application software are web browsers such as Google Chrome by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and image editor Adobe Photoshop by Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE).

While it is true that the software industry is dominated by American companies, in recent years Canadian companies have also begin to make their mark in this sector, making it one of the leading countries for software development. According to globalnewswire.com, the Canadian market is forecasted to grow at 7.2 percent over the 2020-2027 time period. The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is even referred to as Canada’s Silicon Valley, with the second highest density of technology startups in the world.

This brings us to our list of the biggest Canadian software companies. Each of the companies listed on our list is a leading force in the software industry, providing different services and software solutions. To prepare their ranking, we have used the companies’ websites as our source, ranking each Canadian software company based on revenue, profit, assets, and employees of the company. Let us look at the emerging companies in the software industry from Canada, starting with number 15:

15. Martello Technologies

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 10.9

Number of employees: 90

Martello Technologies was founded in 1981, and has headquarters in Ottawa, Canada. The company provides digital experience monitoring (DEM) solutions and fault and performance management to optimize the performance of real-time applications of enterprises. According to their website, services of the company are deployed in over 5000 networks reaching more than 175 countries all over the world. It was also ranked on the list of Canada’s top growing companies for 2020.

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14. Jobber

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 30.5

Number of employees: 200

Ranked as the second fastest-growing software company in Canada, Jobber has achieved substantial success in a short amount of time. Launched in 2011, Jobber now serves 70,000 active customers across 43 different countries across the globe. Like the name suggests, Jobber sells its software as a service to those looking to open or currently operating a small business. The application includes several services such as invoicing, scheduling, credit card processing, and business financing. The CEO, Sam Pillar, claims to use his own software to this day to help him with running the business as well.

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13. Simba Technologies

Revenue in 2020 (in millions of dollars): 42

Number of employees: 171

The 13th entry on our list of the biggest Canadian software companies is Simba Technologies. Offering services such as integration services, OEM development, and product certification and testing. The company is most recognizable for providing software development for Linux, Windows, and UNIX among other platforms.

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12. Maropost

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 45

Number of employees: 171

Founded in 2011, Maropost currently has its headquarters in Toronto, Canada. The company offers a cloud-based marketing automation platform for businesses operating in a variety of different sectors. An interesting fact about Maropost is that it has become one of the fastest-growing companies in North America within a short time period, despite not raising any funding. Maropost is currently located in three different countries, with offices in Toronto, Canada as well as Chandigarh, India, and Stockholm, Sweden.

11. Prodigy

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 56.1

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 124

Number of employees: 380

Named the fastest-growing software company two years in a row by Canadian Business, Prodigy Education (formerly known as Prodigy Games) is a rising competitor in the software industry. Established in 2008, the company has had a 14,866 percent increase in growth in just 5 years, from 2013-2018. The software company primarily works in developing math games for children all over the world.

10. Absolute Software Corporation

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 98.9

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 860.53

Number of employees: 500

Absolute Software Corporation specializes in endpoint security solutions for smartphones and computers, as well as data risk management. In January 2020, it was listed by Forbes as one of the top 10 cybersecurity companies to watch out for in 2020. The company’s flagship product is the Absolute Persistence Platform, embedded in more than 500 million devices across the globe. Headquarters for the Canadian-American company are in both Vancouver, Canada and Austin, Texas.

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9. TouchBistro Inc.

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 117

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 725

Number of employees: 560

Named Best POS System for Restaurants by Business News Daily, TouchBistro is a software company providing restaurants with a point-of-sale solution for IPads. The company’s app of the same name supports tableside ordering, custom restaurant layouts, custom menus, bill splitting, sales reports, as well as order and cash register printers. It is a popular choice for many restaurants across the globe.

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8. Hootsuite

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 150

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 725

Number of employees: 1504

Founded in 2008 by Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite has grown to become of the biggest Canadian software companies by revenue. It is a social media management platform designed to help organizations and businesses execute social media strategies across various different social media networks. The company was ranked #3 of the top 25 companies to work for in Canada by Linkedin in 2018. Today, the company boasts more than 18 million customers and employees at over 80 percent of the Fortune 1000. It is also one of the most popular social media management tools for small business owners looking to market their business effectively.

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7. Kinaxis

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 191

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 3,900

Number of employees: 500

Based in Ottowa, Ontario, Kinaxis has been part of the software industry since 1984. Although described as a supply chain supplement and sales software company, Kinaxis is also well known for making large subscription-based product for multinational companies all over the world. The cloud-computing software distribution model Software-as-a-service (also known as SaaS) is where Kinaxis gains 62 percent of its revenue. Gartner named Kinaxis as a Leader in the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Sales and Operations Planning Systems of Differentiation for three years in a row.

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6. Descartes Systems Group

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 196

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 3,600

Number of employees: 1550

Descartes Systems Group is most famously known for being among the few companies which survived the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s. After going almost bankrupt, Descartes Systems was able to emerge as profitable in the mid-2000s. Today, it is well-established for selling cloud-based services and logistics software and was also named among the Top 220 Supply Chain Management Software Suppliers by Gartner in 2018.

5. Altus Group

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 444

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 2,020

Number of employees: 2,200

Founded in 2005 by Gary Yeoman, Altus Group offers the global real estate industry with software, data solutions and independent advisory services. The company operates with two segments, of which Altus Analytics sell global software products as well as data analytics solutions. The company acquired Argus Software in 2011 which began its entry into the real estate software industry.

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4. Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,578

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 149,870

Number of employees: 5,000

Founded in 2006 in Ottowa, Ontario, Shopify stands as the second most valuable company in Canada. The company provides a platform for online retailers to sell, ship, and manage their inventory as well as a point-of-sale system to manage transactions. As of January 2021, the e-commerce platform is running in more than 175 countries with over 3.6 million stores using the Shopify platform.

3. OpenText Corporation

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,000

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 10,400

Number of employees: 12,200

This publicly traded company is third on our list of the biggest software companies in the world. Mediacorp Canada named OpenText Corporation as one of the top 100 employers in Canada in 2016. The company is primarily focused on cultivating and selling enterprise information to organizations all over the world. OpenText is known for acquiring business as well, having many famous organizations such as Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) and a subdivision of Dell EMC (NYSE:Dell). The company’s headquarters are in Waterloo, Canada, with offices located across 26 different countries.

2. Constellation Software

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,500

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 29,000

Number of employees: 1,797

Founded in 1955 by former venture capitalist Mark Leonard, this Canadian software company’s main business strategy is acquiring other companies within the technology sector. According to the website, Constellation Software is divided into six segments, each focused on acquiring companies from different sectors of the market. For example, Harris Computer Systems focuses primarily on the public sector, while Jonas Software focuses on the construction and hospital industry. Constellation software has offices all across the world, operating in 30 countries including the UK, USA, and Australia. As of now, they are providing services to over 100 countries.

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1. CGI Inc

Revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 12,100

Market Value (in millions of dollars): 16,400

Number of employees: 77,500

Topping our list of the 15 biggest Canadian software companies is none other than CGI Inc. Established over 40 years ago in Quebec, City this IT company is one of the top software companies in Canada. It was listed as one of top 30 companies in Canada by market capitalization, one of only 5 other software companies. A multinational company, CGI Inc works primarily on system integrations, information technology consulting, as well as outsourcing, offering a variety of services such as cloud computing and security which may not be strictly linked to the software market. As of now they are operating in 5 different sectors, including financial services, health care and government, telecommunications and utilities, manufacturing, and retail and distribution.