News

Registration for the Prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Ranking Begins

Deloitte has commenced registration the 14th annual contest for the fastest-growing technology company in Central and Eastern Europe. Individual technology firms from the Czech Republic can register for the prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 50 ranking until 15 July 2013. The results will be announced in the second half of October 2013.

"Over half of the technology companies in last year's ranking focused on software development, while a third concentrated on internet services. The ranking included only three companies from the telecommunications and networks sector and one from the media and entertainment sector. We believe that the proportion of companies from the last two sectors will grow in the future," said Ladislav Šauer, Audit Director at Deloitte.

The participation in the Technology Fast 50 ranking provides a unique opportunity to compare the performance of established as well as new companies. As in previous years, companies will be compared in three categories this year:

Technology Fast 50 Category

In order to qualify for the main Technology Fast 50 ranking, the participants must meet the following criteria: 

• Annual revenues of at least EUR 50,000 in each of the years between 2008 and 2012;
• Headquarters in one of the following Central European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia or Slovenia; 
• Development or manufacturing of proprietary technologies or spending a significant amount of capital on research & development; and 
• Ownership structure that excludes majority-owned subsidiaries of strategic entities.
  Winners are subsequently selected based on the evaluation of registrants that meet the qualifying criteria by revenue growth over the five-year period from 2008 to 2012. 

Rising Stars Category

In the Rising Stars category, Deloitte ranks "young" companies that show great potential but are too new to meet the main category criterion of a minimum of five years in operation. Eligible companies must be in operation for between three and five years and exceed revenues of EUR 30,000 in each of the last three years (2010 – 2012). Apart from that, the same criteria apply as for the main Technology Fast 50 ranking.

Big 5 Category

The Big 5 category ranks large fast-growing companies that have achieved extraordinary growth in the last five years. To be eligible, companies must meet the same criteria as for the main Fast 50 ranking with the exception of the annual revenue in the final measured year (2012), which must exceed EUR 25 million for this category.

"This ranking is unique because it offers the ability to compare one's powers not only among technology firms in the Czech Republic, but also in other countries of the Central European region. The ranking improves the firm's image not only in front of clients, but also in front of its employees, and helps to provide positive publicity in the media. By participating in the ranking, firms also apply for a ranking within the EMEA region and thus have a chance to participate in the gala award ceremony which will take place in London at the end of this year," commented Zdeněk Křížek, Partner in the ICT Advisory and ERS department at Deloitte.

"Successfully defending second place among Central European technology elite is an honour for us and an acknowledgement of our work. Our growth was driven by success in the field of websites showing sports results, in which we score in a number of European markets. Defending last year's placement in Deloitte's ranking supported the endeavour of our team in expanding to new markets, namely in North and South America," said Martin Hájek, statutory executive of LiveSport.

More information on the conditions of the ranking is available at www.deloitte.com/fast50ce.