Top Company 2019: Technology Services

In its 32nd year, ColoradoBiz's Top Company honors the Colorado companies that have drive, determination, a vision and a plan and are ultimately making the state a better place to live and work. These fourcompanies – one winner and three finalists – represent the 2019 Top Companies in Technology Services.

WINNER

Propeller Aero

Denver

A global leader in cloud visualization and analytics solutions, Propeller Aero gives construction worksites the power to track, map and measure their earthwork projects. The company is changing the way heavy civil construction and resource operations measure and manage their sites by driving value in four major quadrants: progress, productivity, quality and cost.

“Propeller is unique because we have a hardware solution that helps our customers capture the most accurate data before they even get to our software,” CEO Rory San Miguel says. “That reliable accuracy is critical for our target industries who want to track their earthwork.”

Today, Propeller is used on more than 14,000 worksites in 120 countries delivering more than 55,000 worksite surveys for industry-leading companies.

Propeller also wants to improve the landscape for young or minority groups entering software engineering. The company provides mentorship to young people looking to enter STEM subjects; sponsors Codebar, an organization enabling underrepresented people to learn programming; and offers internships to students who want to learn about programming and software development.

Propeller earns raves from its employees, who work in wide-open, dog-friendly offices with fully stocked kitchens. The company hosts biweekly demo days, where the whole team spends 90 minutes discussing problems, solutions, achievements and goals.

“From our first hires to our most recent additions, we’ve got incredible people to help us solve problems,” San Miguel says. “And the problems we’re solving for our customers are niche and high-impact.”

FINALISTS

Gorilla Logic

Boulder

Gorilla Logic provides Agile teams to Fortune 500 and emerging companies, bringing unparalleled expertise in the delivery of full stack web, mobile and enterprise applications. Its Boulder headquarters and Development Centers in Costa Rica and Colombia come together to build high-performance, integrated teams based on top-quality talent. Gorilla Logic has made the Inc. 5000 list five times and is in the running for a sixth. The company hosts a Boulder Geek Jam once a month with a Meetup of more than 600 members. Team members have volunteered for organizations such as a Adopt-a-Trail, doing trail clean-up and maintenance, and donating food and supplies to help stray dogs in Costa Rica.

Spire Digital

Denver

For more than 20 years, Spire has provided strategic consulting, user experience design, software development, DevOps, and staff augmentation to the world’s top companies. Whether web, mobile, IoT, wearables, AR/VR, AI, or blockchain, Spire helps startups and enterprises in a variety of industries succeed at the art of innovation. The company donates to Pledge 1% Colorado, has participated in Denver Startup week and Women in Digital, and is part of multiple MeetUps, Slack channels, and mentor programs that are helping disrupt Colorado industries. Spire has also helped people with disabilities and future business leaders through programs such as the Possibility Pool and Denver Business Leaders. 

Viasat Inc.

San Diego

Global communications company Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate for more than 30 years. It takes pride in its carefully crafted culture, which includes a new employee mentorship, encouragement of in-company startups, tuition reimbursement, 14 weeks of paid parental leave, gym reimbursements, lunchtime seminars, tech talks, internship hackathons and unlimited sick leave. One in three Viasat employees volunteers or gives to charitable organizations, and more than 1,000 global organizations receive support from Viasat employee-driven programs. During 29 Viasat Volunteer Week events across 13 locations, employees volunteered for more than 1,000 hours. Viasat fosters STEAM education by supporting more than 30 FIRST robotics teams across the country and investing 2,150 hours mentoring high school and middle school students for  Science Olympiad.

This article is part of the 2019 ColoradoBiz Top Company Awards. Read more about all the winners & finalists: 
ADVERTISING & MARKETING | DIGITAL MARKETING | ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN | CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING | CONSUMER BUSINESS | ENERGY | FINANCIAL SERVICES | HEALTH CARE | MANUFACTURING | NONPROFIT | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES | REAL ESTATE | SOFTWARE | STARTUP | TOURISM & HOSPITALITY