It isn’t an overstatement to say that the world has made leaps and bounds in terms of technological advancements.
From dial-up internet connections to seamless digital access at your fingertips, it’s fascinating to step back and examine everything that has been accomplished so far. Part of that comes from how hardware itself has evolved.
The other contributing factor is related to how a few organizations are bearing the torch for a technological revolution. As such, these enterprises are considered the top tech companies in the world—not just by market metrics and revenue numbers but also by the impact they have left with their products and services.
This blog, then, takes a look at 10 of the top tech companies.
Let’s dive right in!
A handful of organizations have emerged as the biggest tech companies in the world due to how they successfully blended their software, cloud-backed platform, hardware component and user device product lines.
Having said that, here are the organizations that stand as the most prominent drivers of the global tech market:
Founded: 1994
2021 Revenue: $469.82 billion
Popular Products: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alexa, Amazon Store
Initially established as an e-commerce portal, Amazon has quickly expanded into cloud computing, data storage, artificial intelligence and digital streaming. Interestingly, Fortune Magazine only recently updated its description page for the company, listing it as an ‘American tech multinational’ instead of a retail giant.
As such, Amazon is one of the Big Five, a collective of five dominant tech companies in USA. In fact, as of early 2021, its digital streaming service, Amazon Prime, amassed around 200 million subscribers despite the abundance of other popular visual entertainment channels such as Netflix.
Nonetheless, it is the organization’s foray into the cloud computing and web services market that has proved to be one of its most profitable ventures. AWS, for example, is an affordable and reliable line of cloud-based products such as the EC2.
Some of the product lines under AWS include the S3, EC2, EBS and RDS
Moreover, the current users of AWS are some of the well-recognized names in their related fields. Adobe, Spotify, Disney and Pfizer are just a few examples here.
Founded: 1993
2021 Revenue: $16.68 billion
Popular Products: RTX 40 Series, RTX 30 Series, GTX Series
Video games, alongside editing and general computing, are what they are today because of Nvidia. The company invented the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in 1999, ushering in a new era of hardware inventions.
As of now, it is one of the leading manufacturers of GPUs, making it indispensable to the most prominent names in hardware tech. MSI, Lenovo, Dell and Apple —all of them rely on Nvidia components in their most popular product lines.
The RTX 40 Series is the latest in line of Nvidia’s GPUs
In addition to its collaboration with the biggest tech companies in the world, Nvidia is also renowned for its work in Artificial Intelligence (AI). And the organization’s continued efforts have given way to enhancements in recommender systems, speech recognition, medical imaging and supply chain management.
Regardless, Nvidia is still focused on its primary objective: Creating impactful consumer experiences with innovative practices in hardware and software development.
Founded: 1976
2021 Revenue: $365.82 billion
Popular Products: iPhone, MacBook, Apple TV+
There’s no way to list the top tech companies in the world without talking about Apple. As of 2022, the organization held 51% of the North American smartphone market. Needless to say, the sales from their iPhone and MacBook product lines bring in a significant portion of their annual revenue.
Notwithstanding, the Apple App Store and the iTunes Store are two of its most profitable services. And, considering the company’s track record so far, its relatively new streaming service, Apple TV+, should be gaining traction soon enough.
The Apple One service bundle became immensely popular due to its segmented pricing
As such, it is Apple’s focus on capturing the high-end consumers in each market segment that makes it so successful. And this growth and expansion are evident in the company’s persistent listing in stock exchanges like Nasdaq, alongside other industry peers such as Microsoft and Alphabet, Inc.
In short, Apple’s success is further added to by consistent investor interest in the company’s stocks.
Founded: 1977
2021 Revenue: $28.7 billion
Popular Products: Oracle Database, Oracle ERP, Oracle Customer Experience Cloud
Oracle has consistently been a leader in IT and Enterprise solutions and software. In fact, the Forbes Global 2000 report ranked it the second-largest software company and the 115th-largest organization in the world.
Still, there are other titles that the organization holds. As a matter of fact, Oracle is amongst the top 100 companies by market value. And Larry Ellison, the co-founder, executive chairman and the CTO of Oracle, is considered to be the driving factor behind this.
Currently, Oracle’s core services focus on cloud computing and licensing. However, its acquisition of Sun Microsystems over a decade earlier, a specialist in computer components, has also helped it establish a relatively dominant presence in the hardware market.
Oracle’s core services include cloud-based infrastructure, databases, applications and customer management systems
Nonetheless, Oracle separates itself from other tech companies in USA through its focus on driving innovation through education. The Oracle Academy, for example, offers training in computing and other related technological fields in collaboration with educational institutions and government programs.
Founded: 1975
2021 Revenue: $168 billion
Popular Products: Microsoft Operating Systems (OS), Microsoft Dynamics 365, Xbox consoles
Until recently, Microsoft primarily focused on commercial licensing for its OS and related software products.
As such, the organization’s largest segment was the ‘More Personal Computing’ division, which included the revenue from Windows OS, Xbox consoles, subscription services and search advertising.
Recently, Microsoft has been on quite an aggressive expansion policy. Its acquisition of prominent video game developers and publishers, such as Activision, Undead Labs and Bethesda, is just one example of this.
All the video game developers and publishers that Microsoft has acquired have listed their games exclusively on the Xbox subscription service
Now, this could imply that Microsoft is looking to dominate all peripheral tech niches. However, in a surprising move, Microsoft replaced its ‘More Personal Computing’ segment with the Intelligent Cloud division.
This step indicates two specific things. First, the company is interested in moving into the Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market and expanding its user base for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 line. Second, all acquisitions and sub-divisions may just be consolidated under one umbrella, making service and product deployment a streamlined process.
If successful, Microsoft could become not just one of the top tech companies in the world but the largest global organization.
Founded: 1911
2021 Revenue: $57.35 billion
Popular Products: IBM Cloud Pak, IBM Aspera, IBM Spectrum Storage Suite
IBM is one of the biggest tech companies in the world and also one of the oldest.
The organization’s long, storied history also means that it has seen several changes in its performance over the years. For example, IBM’s revenue has steadily declined since 2011.
Despite this unfortunate shift, the tech giant is nowhere close to being considered out of the running. In fact, the current market still perceives it as one of the most valuable brands, alongside the likes of Amazon, Google and Apple.
IBM’s Spectrum Storage Suite gives users a single control point for data protection
Regardless, IBM has established what it calls strategic imperatives. Essentially, it’s selling off the low-margin divisions and businesses and re-investing that amount into high-performing product lines.
In 2018, for example, the company sold IBM WebSphere Commerce for $1.8 billion to HCL Technologies. The net figure was then invested back into IBM’s core service line, which includes cloud platforms and IT infrastructure.
Founded: 1982
2021 Revenue: $15.79 billion
Popular Products: Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, Adobe Marketing Cloud
Well-known for its graphics editing software, Photoshop, Adobe is one of the leading tech companies in USA. Currently, its product line is spread across three primary segments: Digital Experience, Digital Media and Publishing & Advertising.
Out of those three, the Digital Media division is Adobe’s most recognized segment. The products under that line specifically cater to content creation, business promotion and publications. Meanwhile, the Digital Experience branch offers a cloud platform for organizations to manage customer experience.
Finally, the Publishing & Advertising department provides various legacy services and products, like eLearning solutions and web conferencing apps.
The Adobe Marketing Cloud hosts several optimization tools for managing promotional campaigns
This extended reach into digital solutions comes from Adobe’s past acquisitions. For example, its merger with the online web analytics and marketing firm, Omniture, led to the Adobe Marketing Cloud becoming one of the most popular automated advertising solutions.
Founded: 2015
2021 Revenue: $257.6 billion
Popular Products: All Google-backed services
When listing the names of tech companies, Google has always been a mainstay in the list. However, an alarming portion of the population needs to learn about the fact that the company isn’t autonomous anymore.
In fact, in October 2015, when the organization underwent a restructuring, Alphabet Inc was established as the parent company of Google and all its subsidiaries. This consolidation directly resulted in Alphabet Inc. making it into the Big Five list alongside the likes of Meta, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.
Currently, a significant portion of the company’s revenue comes from YouTube advertising. And considering the recent expansion and growth of the online media channel, the margins in this area are only expected to increase.
Alphabet Inc. has incorporated several other ventures in addition to Google services
Something interesting to note is that Alphabet Inc. doesn’t just rely on Google-backed services. Instead, it has integrated several other digital verticals, overtaking Amazon in market capitalization. As of now, its valuation sits at $1.78 trillion.
Founded: 1984
2021 Revenue: $49.8 billion
Popular Products: Infrastructure Platforms, Cisco SecureX, Cisco Duo
A leader in telecommunication, networking and software design and development, Cisco’s business model focuses on four product lines, all falling under its ‘Infrastructure Platforms’ (IP) division.
The IP segment is also its most profitable branch, generating over half of the annual revenue in 2021. As such, this particular division holds Cisco’s networking products and technology, including data centers and wireless routing systems.
The Cisco SecureX platform is meant to provide a single end-point for managing organizational IT security
Recently, the organization has also launched its own ‘Services’ branch, which provides technical support for comprehensive customer experience management. This additional venture has not taken away from Cisco’s position as one of the top tech companies in the IT market. In fact, it is still the dominating figure in this area.
There’s also the security appliances sector, a field in which the company performs consistently. Regardless, compared to its other divisions, this field is still a relatively minor one.
Founded: 1984
2021 Revenue: $86.67 billion
Popular Products: Alienware Series, PowerStore, G Series
Amongst all the prominent names of tech companies, Dell Technologies is one of the most recognized ones.
Part of that popularity comes from the organization’s line of high-end hardware products, the least of all of which is the Alienware Series. As such, at the time of its release, the desktop and the laptop variants were some of the most powerful computing products in the market and included innovative built-in VR functionality.
Dell’s popularity amongst its consumers came from it catering to different audience groups equally
Now, Dell has divided its products and services into two primary groups. First, the Client Solutions Group (CSG) holds all the proprietary devices and hardware components, including laptops, notebooks, desktops and other peripherals.
Second, and more interestingly, the Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) handles the organization’s ventures into cloud storage, hosting servers and converged multi-cloud systems.
Incidentally, Dell hinted at this transition into online web and cloud-backed services when it spun off VMware, a specialist in software virtualization and hybrid cloud security, computing and networking.
As evident from the presented information, all the mentioned organizations no longer stick to a particular niche.
For instance, Nvidia, despite primarily being a GPU manufacturing company, has ties to AI. Meanwhile, Dell, a predominantly hardware and peripheral accessory brand, has set itself up in the cloud computing market. Even Amazon, an online retail portal, offers web and cloud-backed services.
In short, everything is evolving so rapidly that organizations affiliated with their related niches are venturing into parallel fields. And these enterprises—these top tech companies, whatever you want to call them—will lead the way for what’s to come.
And considering everything they have done so far, that future looks promising.
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