Area tech firms honored for explosive growth

TAMPA — Two Tampa Bay area cybersecurity firms have made Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, a ranking of North America’s 500 fastest-growing tech, media, telecom, life sciences and energy firms.

On the strength of 3,726% revenue growth, Clearwater-based KnowBe4 made the list for the third consecutive year, jumping from No. 70 to No. 34, according to a press release.

"We're honored to be listed on the Deloitte 2018 Technology Fast 500 list for the third year in a row," states Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4, in the release. "Our revenue growth has been up for 22 consecutive quarters, and we attribute that success to our best-in-class, new-school security awareness training and simulated phishing platform along with the increasing realization that people are the weakest link in organizational security."

Also making the list, at No. 214, was ReliaQuest, headquartered in Tampa, which saw its revenue rise by 451% over the past year. In a statement, CEO Brian Murphy credits the success to the company’s strong culture and hard-working employees.

"It's amazing to see our teams deliver outcomes for our customers and our business that are both rewarding and help them grow in their careers," Murphy states in the release. "I couldn't be prouder of the work the ReliaQuest team has done to build and maintain such a high-performance culture."

ReliaQuest officials have declined to disclose specific revenue figures to the Business Observer. KnowBe4 reported $62 million in 2017 revenue, up 154.1% from 2016, when it had $24.40 million in revenue. The company was ranked No. 141 in the Business Observer's Top 500 ranking of the largest companies in the region.