Connecticut is proudly home to powerhouse technology corporations that play pivotal roles advancing financial services, insurance, music, defense and automotive industries. Our deep dive will explore leading Connecticut-birthed tech innovators like FactSet, Harman International and Gartner along with upstarts like Insurity making insurance smarter using the cloud. LET‘S jump in!
Connecticut‘s Vibrant Tech Landscape at a Glance
With Yale University and hedge funds anchoring the state‘s southern region, Connecticut unquestionably qualifies as a top-tier hub for technology talent and innovation.
Impressively over 16,700 tech business call Connecticut home, collectively contributing $35 billion in annual state GDP based on 2022 data from industry trade group CompTIA. More specifics:
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Software services, custom programming and computer system management services account for over 50% of Connecticut‘s tech jobs currently.
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Scientific R&D services drive around $14 billion yearly with another $5.4 billion stemming from computer systems integration projects and $3.5 billion from software publishers.
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Connecticut secures several hundred million dollars in tech focused venture capital every year, especially for fast-growing verticals like financial technologies, healthcare IT solutions and educational software products.
Now let‘s profile Connecticut‘s most impactful and fastest-scaling technology enterprises leveraging world-class homegrown engineering, research and entrepreneurial talent!
FactSet – Financial Data Juggernaut Empowering 150,000+ Investment Professionals
Founded in 1978 and still headquartered in Norwalk today, FactSet serves over 150,000 financial services professionals across the globe. Their expansive financial databases integrated with flexible analytics tools enable everything from investment strategy backtesting to portfolio risk modelling.
| Decade | Annual Revenues | Clients | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | $8M – $15M | 100s | Less than 10 |
| 1990s | $60M – $125M | 1,000s | 100s |
| 2000s | $300M – $700M | 10,000s | 1,000s |
| 2010s | $900M – $1.4B | 100,000s | 5,000+ |
| Current | $1.9B+ | 150,000+ | 10,700+ |
Analyzing FactSet’s growth trajectory over 40+ years reveals several notable milestones:
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Window of Opportunity (1990) – FactSet‘s first Windows-based portfolio analytics workstation arrived as Wall Street eagerly embraced Microsoft Office and Excel. Positioned FactSet as a workflow productivity enhancer.
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Global Expansion (1993-95) – European and Asia Pacific market entries expanded TAM 5X almost overnight. Key to seeding future growth.
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Dotcom Bubble Era (1996-00) – FactSet benefited immensely from 1990’s explosion of hedge funds and day trading needing real-time data/analytics. Became daily habit for 100,000s finance pros.
Today FactSet looks poised to top $2 billion in 2023 revenues serving the global banking, wealth management, hedge fund and private equity communities.
Harman International – Focused on Next-Gen Vehicle Cabin Experiences
Founded in 1953 by audio engineers Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon, Harman International now operates as a Samsung subsidiary specializing in immersive in-vehicle entertainment systems plus premium branded audio equipment.
Known for audio gear brands like JBL, Harman, AKG, Infinity and Mark Levinson, Harman also stands uniquely positioned to capitalize on automaker demand for more personalized, content-rich passenger cabin environments enabled by 5G connectivity.
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2022 Innovations – Harman recently demoed its Ready Care voice assistant for in-vehicle patient health query abilities alongside the Ready Touch touchscreen dashboard customized for various OEM clients.
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Recent Acquisitions – Since Samsung‘s $8 billion buyout closed in early 2017, Harman has made several small technology purchases including America Praesus (2017), Ioxus (2018) and Sound United (2022) to boost EV power systems and home audio hardware.
With 30,000 employees across North America, Europe and Asia along with nearly $9 billion in 2022 revenues, Harman seems likely to play an integral role shaping how we work, travel and enjoy entertainment within the vehicle cabin environments of the future.
Gartner Inc – The World‘s Most Trusted Tech Industry Advisor
Gartner Inc operates as THE authoritative advising and benchmarking voice on topics ranging from semiconductor markets, to cybersecurity frameworks, to cloud cost optimization tactics. Unlike traditional analyst houses, 80% of Gartner‘s $4.7 billion total 2022 revenues come directly from 11,000+ enterprise clients using dedicated account teams backed by exhaustive proprietary research.
After launching back in 1979, small organic growth followed until:
The 1990s M&A Strategy
| Year | Acquisition | Focus | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Dataquest | Market Research | $90M |
| 1996 | Productivity Group | HR Systems | $2.5M |
| 1997 | Information Mgt AB | Nordic Tech Data | N/A |
| 1998 | National ITM Institute | IT Training (Ireland) | N/A |
| 1999 | Firstwave | High Tech Investing Insights | $20M |
…along with additional global buys every year after. This aggressive growth-by-acquisition playbook never slowed through the 2000s either with huge deals for META Group ($390M), Burton Group and Ideas International.
The result today? Unmatched influence with nearly 100% of Fortune 500 enterprises leveraging Gartner‘s exhaustive, global IT insights to accelerate their digital transformations.
Insurity – Modernizing Insurance with Cloud-Based Mastery
Privately-held Insurity stays dedicated to one vertical – providing policy, billing and claims administration software exclusively tailored for insurers dealing with the intricacies and regulations governing life, health, P&C and workers comp coverage scenarios.
Jeffrey Glazer founded the company back in 1985, today overseeing around 50 employees at Insurity‘s Hartford, CT headquarters alongside satellite offices in California and Lithuania.
Insurity‘s Core Capabilities
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RAPID Application Suite – tools supporting configurable no code insurance application development and deployment
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Insurity Policy for Workers‘ Comp – supports 1500+ class code variations and 400+ endorsements specific to work comp coverage complexities
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Insurity Claims – advanced workflow automation, FNOL and legacy claims data integration
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Insurity NXT – full modern core system built entirely on microservices and open API architectures
While revenue remain undisclosed as a private firm, CB Insights pegs 2021 annual revenue above $100 million stemming from 100+ insurance carrier relationships. Further growth seems more than achievable given only a tiny fraction of U.S. insurance IT infrastructure resides in the cloud today according to McKinsey research.
Kaman Corporation – Pioneering Important Technologies Saving Lives
Founded way back in 1945 by aerospace pioneer Charles Kaman, Kaman Corporation today employs over 3,000 engineers and technical workers driving innovations in aviation along with power transmission, automation and fluid handling systems.
Always dedicated to his local community, Kaman established global HQ along Connecticut‘s Farmington River where his first helicopter took flight in 1947. Now distributed across three domestic production facilities and numerous international service centers, Kaman brings in around $700 million total yearly revenue.
Healthcare applications account for an important and growing share of revenues today. For example Kaman produces specialized data acquisition technologies critical for improving precision and navigation capabilities in applications like:
- MRI-guided surgery
- Portable ultrasound devices with enhanced stability and ergonomics
- Robotic catheter control requiring intricate position tracking
- Wearable drug delivery pumps able to adhere directly to patients
Kaman also partners with leading medical device and diagnostic imaging manufacturers to optimize production of life-saving technologies that must withstand sterilization, operation in strong magnetic fields and challenging size constraints.
While the scale of Harman and FactSet dwarfs Kaman‘s footprint, Kamen‘s tremendous healthcare contributions and nearly 75 year dedication to advancing Connecticut manufacturing saves lives every day!
Final Thoughts
Through FactSet‘s immense financial data resources, Harman‘s immersive automotive cabin innovations, Gartner‘s tech insights along with younger upstarts like Insurity, Connecticut has staked its reputation as fertile breeding ground for technologies powering how we invest, get healthier and stay entertained regardless of geography or lifestyle.
Stay tuned for my next blog exploring other longstanding Connecticut tech leaders that may fly more under the mainstream radar – but still play indispensable roles driving better patient outcomes, improved transportation safety/efficiency and modernized defense platforms!
