FOUNDED: 2003

HEADQUARTERS: Mississauga, Canada

EMPLOYEES: 140 as of Jan 1, 2012

The Herjavec Group

The Herjavec Group (THG) is one of Canada's fastest-growing technology companies and the country's largest IT security provider. THG delivers complete security and network acceleration services to companies around the globe, supported by Canada's largest group of certified security engineers. Their expertise enables THG to maintain its leadership position across a wide range of functions, including secure content management solutions, Email Security, WAN acceleration, intrusion prevention technologies, risk management and fully-managed network security systems.

In the Beginning

The firm's initial business activities were centered on its role as a vendor of CheckPoint firewalls, serving some of Canada's most complex networks. Among the first in the industry to recognize the critical need for anti-spam technology, THG later added CipherTrust to its services; CipherTrust was later acquired by Secure Computing which, in turn, was folded into the McAfee line.

This initial suite of services, managed by an exceptional team of computer engineering specialists, helped propel THG sales from under $500,000 in its initial year to more than $4 million in the following year. This qualified the firm for a listing in the Profit Magazine Hot 50, ranking the fastest-growing companies in Canada.

Expansion

Following on the heels of this recognition, THG launched a major expansion program in 2005-2006. The addition of BlueCoat to its array of services in 2006 helped the firm achieve a 100 percent growth rate, a remarkable achievement leading, in turn, to a second stage of expansion with the acquisition of MetaComm. Merging the MetaComm and THG customer bases elevated THG to its position as the largest McAfee partner in Canada, and one of the largest in North America. The move also brought prestigious names such as Toyota and Home Hardware into THG's stable of clients.

By 2007, THG had established a pattern of steady growth and expansion. The firm's partnership with Riverbed as a source for reliable WAN acceleration proved beneficial for both sides when THG became one of Riverbed's largest partners in Canada. The new sales opportunities helped generate annual sales beyond $16 million for the year, an accomplishment recognized by both the Branham 300 and CDN Top 100, and a ranking for THG in the Profit 100 listing.

Growth continued apace in 2008, marked by the expansion of the THG Toronto Network Operations Center (NOC) as well as the establishment of offices in Quebec City and Calgary, Alberta. For the second year in a row, the firm's growth qualified it for a listing by Profit 100.

Expansion through 2009 included the acquisition of Ottawa-based Sensible Security Solutions, the largest McAfee desktop and support partner in Canada, a move that enabled THG to serve as a 24x7 fully bilingual support center for more than two million desktops. As the year unfolded, THG's Ottawa presence increased to accommodate larger facilities in that region, plus a second NOC to support Toronto operations.

In 2010 THG acquired industry leading, managed services provider Cyberklix in order to further enhance its managed services capability. Cyberklix was one of North America's pioneers in managed services. Located in Mississauga, THG acquired a state of the art facility with full Federal clearance that operates live 24x7. In addition to managed services, Cyberklix was one of the largest RSA partners. THG also acquired some of the top security engineers in the country and was further able to deepen its strength in security engineering. THG moved out of Toronto and into the former Cyberklix head office in Mississauga and will be further expanding that facility.

2011 marked another important year for THG with the acquisition of Zentra Computer Technologies. Zentra was a leader in the world of storage and virtualization and was a strategic partner with NetApp, VMware and IBM in Canada. With the acquisition the Herjavec Group became a $120 Million dollar integrator with 140 employees spread across 6 offices in Canada. This was a milestone acquisition for THG as it would mark the first purchase of a company outside of the security world. In doing so THG significantly expanded their expertise and continued to be one of Canada's fastest growing technology integrators. In addition to the broadened scope of products and services, THG was able to significantly increase its presence in Western Canada.

Continued Growth

An initial move into the U.S. market was marked by the acquisition of application security specialist SecuritylinQ in New York. For the third year in a row, THG won recognition as a member of the Profit 100, an achievement made even more notable when the company was named winner of the 2009 BusinessPeople's Choice IT Solutions Provider of the Year Award. Once again THG's achieved fantastic growth - even in a challenging economy - growing by 38% to over $36 million in sales - and a current run rate of $65 million.

The Herjavec Group's core services remain at the heart of its operations, augmented by an extensive array of advanced and emerging technologies. The range of industry functions includes database security, DNS/DHCP management, network analysis and forensic applications, and a host of other tasks from prominent suppliers such as Guardium, Infoblox, Forescout, Juniper, Imperva, Fortinet and others.

Looking toward the Future

For 2012, THG anticipates continued expansion in response to an ever-increasing need for security expertise in network environments. By relying upon THG as an extension of their information technology teams, client firms elevate confidence in the security of their IT operations and reduce their systems' total cost of ownership (TCO).

THG's service goals are still predicated on its ability to stay ahead of the security technology curve - an expensive and time-consuming activity for system users - and convert this expertise into cost-efficient solutions. The success of this strategy is self-evident, and remains much-valued by THG's impressive and growing roster of clients.