'Fast 50' winner Xsil keeps Irish tech on top

That the Deloitte Fast 50 awards, which recognise fast-growing technology companies, originated in California comes as no surprise.

With an economy built significantly on the success of Silicon Valley, recognising emerging technology talent there was important. As a result, 11 years ago, Deloitte & Touche came up with the idea of ranking the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in terms of turnover by geographic region. Regional winners go on to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which was won in Europe by Irish interactive learning company Riverdeep in 2001.

The Fast 50 programme is now celebrating its seventh year in Ireland and is widely recognised in the industry as it gives winning companies an edge when it comes to doing business abroad.

"I became aware of these awards in the US in the late 1990s and, because of the strength of the Irish technology sector, we started planning Irish awards in the late-1990s and held our first event in 2000," said David O'Flanagan, a partner at the tax and consulting specialist in Dublin.

The winners of this year's event were announced on Wednesday at a ceremony in the Mansion House, which was timed to coincide with the first Deloitte Technology Forum.

Speakers at the event included Trintech chief executive Cyril McGuire, HP Ireland managing director Martin Murphy, and Paul Lee, director of Deloitte Research in the UK.

The top award in the Fast 50 was given to laser technology developer Xsil, which boosted revenue by 17,333 per cent in the last five years. Peter Conlon, the entrepreneur who founded the Dublin-based company, said it took "blood, sweat and tears" to achieve such growth.

It was the second time Xsil had secured the top prize.

"When we started, our revenue was very small, as it takes about three years to get a customer," Conlon said. "Each piece of equipment we sell costs an average $1.7 million (€1.3 million), so when we started to grow our volumes, our revenue really took off."

Reaching the top of the Fast 50 "is a great endorsement of the achievement we've had to date, especially when doing international business," he said.

"One hundred per cent of our business is international. Some of our equipment is sold in Ireland, but the decisions to buy it are made in the US."

The award gives Xsil "recognition among potential employees and customers, both of whom are from all over the world", Conlon said. "It's helpful with dealing with customers in countries such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan, who recognise the Deloitte brand."

Xsil headed a list featuring 35 entrants from the Republic and 15 companies from Northern Ireland. These firms were recognised at the awards ceremony for increasing their revenue by an average 852 per cent over the last five years. This represented a rise of 329 per cent on last year.

Irish award winners benefit especially in the US, where the Fast 50 is a "badge of recognition," according to O'Flanagan.

For Deloitte itself, the programme shows its customers that it is at "the leading edge of what goes on in the economy we work in", he said.

"The tech sector is one of those sectors at the cutting edge of the Irish economy and has enormous potential," he said. "You will see that in any of the Fast 500 rankings, Irish tech companies always do well. In terms of technology, we have punched above our weight, like Israel and India."

Mr O'Flanagan attributes growth in the domestic technology sector to the growing number of people who leave foreign multinationals to set up their own businesses in Ireland, our entrepreneurial culture and a strong foundation in science.