The 25 Top Solution Provider Companies: 2021 Solution Provider 500
CRN’s 2021 Solution Provider 500 list ranks the top VARs, integrators, service providers and IT consultants in North America by revenue. Here are the top 25 companies on this year’s list.
The Top 25
If there is one word that sums up 2020 for solution providers, it would have to be “pivot.”
The year started out with high expectations – Gartner was forecasting 3.4 percent worldwide IT spending growth to $3.9 trillion – but the COVID-19 pandemic changed all that.
With so many employees suddenly forced to work from home, businesses and organizations quickly shifted how they operated. Their focus turned to providing at-home workers (not to mention schools and local governments) with laptops, collaboration and video conferencing tools and cloud applications, along with security technology to protect it all.
While some long-range IT projects were put on hold, especially amid the economic uncertainties in the pandemic’s early days, many IT vendors and solution providers report that the events of 2020 have accelerated cloud migration and digital transformation initiatives as businesses and organizations look to make their IT systems more agile and more efficient.
Solution providers have been at the forefront of helping their clients through these tough times, quickly providing them with the IT products and services they needed to operate amid the pandemic while offering technology, expertise and services to keep long-term IT projects on track.
Here we present the top 25 companies on the 2021 edition of the CRN Solution Provider 500, the annual ranking of the largest solution providers by revenue in North America.
This year’s Solution Provider 500 companies collectively generated $403 billion in 2020, up more than 2.5 percent from the $393 billion last year’s Solution Provider 500 generated in 2019. The complete Solution Provider 500 list can be found at CRN.com.
No. 25: Optiv Security
2020 Ranking: 26
Top Executive: Kevin Lynch, CEO
Location: Denver
With the widespread fallout from the SolarWinds breach, the increasing number of ransomware attacks and other widely reported cybersecurity incidents, IT security is high on most CIO and IT manager priority lists.
Not surprisingly, Optiv Security, the world’s largest pure-play cybersecurity solutions provider, is breaking into the top 25 of the Solution Provider 500 for the first time after experiencing rapid growth in 2020. The company provides consulting, integration and deployment services to help clients build and operate cybersecurity systems.
In April, Optiv hired 20-year Deloitte veteran Kevin Lynch as CEO, taking over from Dan Burns who had served as CEO since Optiv was created in 2015 through the merger of Accuvant and FishNet Security.
No. 24: Atos
2020 Ranking: 25
Top Executive: Dave Seybold, CEO, North America
Location: Irving, Texas
IT services and consulting company Atos is based in Bezons, France, but has been expanding its presence in North America organically and through acquisitions.
In November Atos said it was investing $2.4 billion in an initiative to provide customers with a one-stop shop for their cloud migration initiatives. The Atos OneCloud incorporates 10 key Atos capabilities, such as industry-specific consulting services and AI/machine learning capabilities, and relies on Amazon Web Services as a strategic partner.
In January of this year, Atos disclosed a bid to acquire DXC Technology in a deal with a reported $10 billion price tag. But in February DXC rejected the offer and Atos walked away from the proposal.
No. 23: EPAM Systems
2020 Ranking: 27
Top Executive: Arkadiy Dobkin, President, CEO
Location: Newtown, Pa.
Moving into the top 25 of the Solution Provider 500 this year, EPAM Systems specializes in enterprise software consulting and development, product design and digital platform engineering services.
For 2020 EPAM reported revenue of $2.66 billion, up 16 percent from $2.29 billion in 2019.
No. 22: Presidio
2020 Ranking: 22
Top Executive: Bob Cagnazzi, CEO
Location: New York
Presidio struck a $2.1 billion deal in late 2019 to be taken private by private equity firm BC Partners just two and a half years after the solution provider powerhouse went public. The acquisition was completed in December 2019, leaving Presidio a privately held company in 2020.
In August, Presidio, a major Dell Technologies and Cisco Systems partner, bought cloud consulting specialist Coda Global in a move that expanded its hybrid cloud and DevOps expertise.
In April, John Hanlon, Dell EMC’s former senior vice president of commercial data center sales, joined Presidio as the company’s chief revenue officer.
No. 21: Sirius
2020 Ranking: 21
Top Executive: Joe Mertens, President and CEO
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Sirius Computer Solutions, which some have dubbed “serious consolidator” because of its aggressive acquisition strategy, stayed on that course in 2020.
In May the company bought Thornton, Colo.-based Advanced Systems Group, No. 244 on the Solution Provider 500, in a move that expanded Sirius’ footprint in the western U.S. In December Sirius acquired Boca Raton, Fla.-based Champion Solutions Group – including its fast-growing MessageOps business – in a bid to expand the solution provider’s Microsoft expertise and service offerings.
Sirius, which turned 40 in November, was a CRN Triple Crown award winner in 2020.
No. 20: Conduent
2020 Ranking: 20
Top Executive: Cliff Skelton, CEO, President
Location: Florham Park, N.J.
After a very turbulent 2019 that saw the departure of CEO Ashok Vemuri, a public spat with activist investor Carl Icahn and declining revenue and profits, Conduent, a Xerox spinoff that provides business process solutions and services, was counting on a more stable 2020.
But, of course, the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing all businesses – including Conduent – to quickly adjust their plans. Conduent, along with Xerox, took an additional blow in July 2020 when it was hit by a ransomware attack from the Maze ransomware group.
For 2020, Conduent reported revenue of $4.16 billion, down nearly 7 percent from 2019. But CEO Cliff Skelton said that despite the challenges of 2020, the company improved client retention and sales performance, including delivering 94 percent new business signings growth. The company also nearly eliminated its $1.9 billion loss from continuing operations in 2019.
No. 19: Perspecta
2020 Ranking: 19
Top Executive: Mac Curtis, President and CEO
Location: Chantilly, Va.
Perspecta, which spun off from DXC Technologies in 2018 (and merged with government consultant Vencore and background check service provider KeyPoint), was one of the largest government technology services providers in 2020. The company recorded revenue of $3.38 billion for the first three quarters of the company’s fiscal 2021 (ended Jan. 1, 2021).
On Jan. 27, 2021, Veritas Capital announced a deal to acquire publicly held Perspecta in an all-cash transaction valued at $7.1 billion ($29.35 per share) with plans to combine Perspecta with Peraton, one of Veritas Capital’s portfolio companies. Peraton, based in Herndon, Va., provides intelligence, cybersecurity and communications services to federal government agencies and commercial entities.
The acquisition was completed May 7, creating a major player in the government and commercial cybersecurity space. (Earlier in 2021 Peraton also acquired Northrop Grumman’s IT business.) Peraton CEO Stu Shea leads the newly combined companies while Perspecta CEO Mac Davis retired.
No. 18: CACI
2020 Ranking: 18
Top Executive: John Mengucci, President and CEO
Location: Reston, Va.
CACI is a multinational IT and professional services company that primarily provides services to the U.S. federal government, branches of the military and the intelligence community. It also has a significant presence within the healthcare industry.
For fiscal 2020 (ended June 30, 2020) CACI reported revenue of $5.72 billion, up nearly 15 percent from 2019. For the first six months of fiscal 2021 (ended Dec. 31, 2020) the company reported revenue of $2.93 billion, up more than 6 percent from the same period one year before.
Last year was Mengucci’s first full year as president and CEO. He took over in June 2019 when Kenneth Asbury stepped down after serving in the top job for more than six years.
No. 17: SoftwareONE
2020 Ranking: 16
Top Executive: Dieter Schlosser, CEO
Location: Waukesha, Wis.
SoftwareONE is a global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions with world headquarters in Stans, Switzerland.
SoftwareOne, which went public in October 2019, reported sales of approximately $8.80 billion (U.S.) in 202, up nearly 4 percent from 2019.
No. 16: Wipro Technologies
2020 Ranking: Not Ranked
Top Executive: Thierry Delaporte, CEO and Managing Director
Location: East Brunswick, N.J.
In January 2020 Abidali Neemuchwala announced plans to step down from his role as CEO and managing director of the India-based global solution provider, citing family commitments. In May Wipro announced that it had hired Thierry Delaporte, previously COO of Capgemini Group, to be the company’s new CEO and managing director, effective July 6.
For the company’s fiscal 2021 (ended March 31) Wipro reported revenue of $8.5 billion, up 1.5 percent from fiscal 2020.
No. 15: Carahsoft Technology
2020 Ranking: 17
Top Executive: Craig Abod, President
Location: Reston, Va.
As a leading government IT solutions provider, Carahsoft Technology partners with a broad range of IT vendors, including Adobe, Dell EMC, F5 Networks, Red Hat, SAP, ServiceNow and VMware, to provide hardware, software and support solutions to federal, state and local governments.
The company was No. 86 on the CRN 2020 Fast Growth 150 list with greater than 60 percent growth and was one of CRN’s 2020 Internet of Things Innovators Award winners.
No. 14: Insight Enterprises
2020 Ranking: 15
Top Executive: Ken Lamneck, President and CEO
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
On May 6, 2021, Insight announced that longtime company leader Ken Lamneck, 66, plans to retire at the end of 2021. During his 12-year tenure as head of the company, Lamneck has overseen the company’s transition from a product-focused reseller into a services-focused solutions provider, more than doubling the company’s sales to $8.3 billion in 2020. A search for a successor is underway.
In 2020 Insight accelerated its transformation into an IT services powerhouse as the company worked through the integration of PCM, previously No. 30 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, which Insight acquired in late 2019 in a deal valued at about $581 million.
No. 13: GDIT
2020 Ranking: 14
Top Executive: Amy Gilliland, President
Location: Falls Church, Va.
GDIT in its current iteration was formed in April 2018 when General Dynamics integrated its own IT business with CSRA, which General Dynamics acquired for $9.7 billion, creating a massive solution provider focused on providing IT services to government agencies.
In July GDIT was awarded a five-year, $2 billion contract to continue managing the U.S. Department of State’s global technical security supply chain. In November the company was awarded a $4.4 billion U.S. Department of Defense cloud computing contract.
No. 12: SHI International
2020 Ranking: 11
Top Executive: Thai Lee, President and CEO
Location: Somerset, N.J.
SHI, one of North America’s largest IT solutions providers, generated a record $11.1 billion in revenue in 2020, up 4 percent from 2019. The company’s public sector division was a major growth driver, topping $3 billion for the year (up 16 percent) as it responded to increased demand from municipal, state and federal government agencies, K-12 schools and higher education institutions for the IT hardware and software they needed to adjust to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020 SHI launched Stratascale, a new subsidiary that provides consulting and professional services. The company also made a strategic investment in mLogica to help accelerate SHI’s development of digital transformation technologies and cloud services.
No. 11: CGI
2020 Ranking: 12
Top Executive: George Schindler, President and CEO
Location: Montreal
Canadian multinational IT consulting and systems integration company CGI moved up one spot on this year’s Solution Provider 500 list. For its fiscal 2020 (ended Sept. 30, 2020) the company reported $10.08 billion (U.S.) in revenue, up less than 1 percent from $10.04 billion (U.S.) one year earlier.
In March 2020 CGI expanded its presence in the U.S. with the acquisition of TeraThink, an IT and management consulting firm that provides digitization, enterprise finance, risk management and data analytics services to the U.S. federal government.
No. 10: Leidos
2020 Ranking: 10
Top Executive: Roger Krone, CEO
Location: Reston, Va.
Leidos provides engineering, systems integration, and science and technical services for government and commercial customers in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. The company reported revenue of $12.30 billion in the fiscal year ended Jan. 1, 2021.
In December Leidos struck a deal to acquire 1901 Group, a provider of managed IT services and cloud solutions. The acquisition, completed in January 2021, added some 400 IT, cloud and cybersecurity specialists to Leidos’ employee roster.
Cisco Systems recently named Leidos its Federal Breakaway Partner of the Year.
No. 9: World Wide Technology
2020 Ranking: 9
Top Executive: James Kavanaugh, CEO
Location: Maryland Heights, Mo.
World Wide Technology held onto its No. 9 position on the Solution Provider 500 after the $13.4 billion IT services star reported robust top-line and bottom-line growth in 2020 despite the economic uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many solution providers, WWT shifted its engineering and sales teams at the start of the pandemic to focus on providing remote work solutions for its U.S. government and Fortune 50 clients.
The company hired between 600 and 700 people last year and has plans to invest millions to hire more than 1,000 new employees this year.
No. 8: NTT Data Services
2020 Ranking: No. 7
Top Executive: Bob Pryor, CEO
Location: Plano, Texas
In October NTT Data Services, already a ServiceNow Elite Partner, greatly expanded its presence in the ServiceNow arena when it closed its acquisition of Acorio, a Boston-based ServiceNow consultancy and ServiceNow’s 2020 Industry Solutions Partner of the Year in the Americas.
No. 7: Capgemini
2020 Ranking: 8
Top Executive: Aiman Ezzat, CEO
Location: Wayne, Pa.
In April 2020, Capgemini, a global consulting, IT services and digital transformation powerhouse, completed its $4.1 billion acquisition of Altran, a leading provider of engineering and R&D services.
In May of last year, Aiman Ezzat, previously the company’s chief operating officer, took over as CEO of the France-based company, succeeding then-CEO Paul Hermelin. The succession plan was announced in September 2019.
No. 6: Cognizant
2020 Ranking: 6
Top Executive: Brian Humphries, CEO
Location: Teaneck, N.J.
Cognizant has been on an acquisition streak in recent years and that continued in 2020. Cognizant, for example, expanded the scope of its Microsoft-related services with acquisitions of New Signature and 10th Magnitude and grew its IoT service offerings with its acquisition of Bright Wolf.
In April 2020 Cognizant was the victim of a Maze ransomware attack that locked up the company’s own IT systems and caused service disruptions for some of its clients.
Cognizant’s revenue for all of 2020 was $16.65 billion, down less than 1 percent from 2019.
No. 5: CDW
2020 Ranking: 5
Top Executive: Christine Leahy, President and CEO
Location: Vernon Hills, Ill.
CDW revenue reached $18.47 billion in 2020, up 2.4 percent over 2019. During a Q4 earnings call in February 2021 CEO Christine Leahy said 2020 growth was spurred by huge demand for notebook computers from K-12 schools and a spike in the company’s government business largely due to a device-as-a-service contract with the U.S. Census Bureau.
In July 2020 CDW said it had acquired IGNW, a leading provider of cloud-native services and software development and data orchestration capabilities.
No. 4: DXC Technology
2020 Ranking: 3
Top Executive: Mike Salvino, President and CEO
Location: Tysons, Va.
DXC, which dropped to No. 4 on this year’s SP500 list, focused on a number of restructuring initiatives in 2020. Those included selling off its state and local health and human services business for $5 billion to Veritas Capital and its healthcare business for $525 million to Dedalus Group – all part of a broader plan unveiled in late 2019 under new CEO Mike Salvino to divest several businesses and focus on its core services.
In January of this year French solution provider Atos disclosed a bid to acquire DXC in a deal with a reported $10 billion price tag. But in February DXC rejected the offer and Atos walked away from the proposal.
No. 3: Tata Consultancy Services
2020 Ranking: 4
Top Executive: Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO and Managing Director
Location: New York
IT consultant and services provider TCS moved up to the No. 3 position on the Solution Provider 500 as the company continues to expand its services portfolio. In 2020 the company invested heavily in its digital transformation services, including data modernization and business analytics; cloud platform services including migration, modernization and application development; and cognitive business operations.
TCS, with global headquarters in Mumbai, India, recorded $22.17 billion in revenue in fiscal 2021.
No. 2: IBM Global Services
2020 Ranking: 1
Top Executive: Arvind Krishna, CEO
Location: Armonk, N.Y.
IBM Global Services, which had been at the top of the Solution Provider 500 for many years, is No. 2 this year. IBM, including its services operations, has been operating under new management since April 2020 when Arvind Krishna took over as CEO.
But IBM’s ranking is likely to change after this year. In October 2020 IBM surprised the industry when it announced a plan to split into two companies, spinning off its Global Technology Services (GTS) as a separate $19 billion company named Kyndryl that will focus on managed infrastructure services.
IBM named Martin Schroeter to be CEO of the new company. An IBM employee since 1992, he most recently served as senior vice president, global market, and before that as IBM’s CFO. IBM also tapped company veterans Elly Keinan and Maria Bartolome Winans to be Kyndryl’s group president and chief marketing officer, respectively.
IBM will retain $8 billion of the GTS cloud service consulting business as well as the $17 billion Global Business Services unit.
The split will likely reorder the top of the Solution Provider 500 – possibly with both IBM and Kyndryl high on the list.
No. 1: Accenture
2020 Ranking: 2
Top Executive: Julie Sweet, CEO
Location: Chicago, Ill.
After holding the No. 2 spot on the CRN Solution Provider 500 since 2015, global systems integration giant Accenture captured the No. 1 position in 2021.
As businesses and organizations adopt cloud computing and undertake digital transformation initiatives, Accenture, under the direction of Julie Sweet who became the company’s CEO in September 2019, has seen growing demand for its services and expertise. The company managed 3 percent revenue growth to $44.33 billion in its fiscal 2020 (ended Aug. 31). Revenue in the first six months of fiscal 2021 are up 8 percent to $23.85 billion.
“COVID has hit a giant fast-forward button to the future and we believe the demand to innovate at unprecedented speed and scale with rapid adoption of cloud, AI and other disruptive technologies is accelerating,” Sweet said during an earnings call on March 18, 2021.
Some of Accenture’s growth was certainly driven by the company’s aggressive acquisition strategy that resulted in some 30 acquisitions in 2020 alone, including Symantec’s MSSP business in January, B2B marketing services agency Yesler in April, digital content producer CreativeDrive in August, and data analytics and data science consultancy End-to-End Analytics in November.