Top 5 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014

A year ago, oil and gas production in the United States was well into its bloom, thanks to the twin technologies of fracking and horizontal drilling.

Shale regions across the country were giving up more oil and gas than ever before. The Bakken Shale of North Dakota, for instance, had recently produced more oil in a single 12-month period than in the prior 55 years combined. Nearly 200 new drilling permits were issued over the prior year -- in Ohio's Utica Shale alone. And natural gas from previously inaccessible shale reservoirs was accounting for a third of the nation's overall gas production -- a 30-fold increase in a little more than a decade.

Fast forward to 2013.

 

The harvesting of hydrocarbons beneath the Earth's surface in the United States continues to bloom -- and boom.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Onstream Media Corporation(ONSM)

Onstream Media Corporation provides online services of live and on-demand corporate audio and Web communications, virtual event technology, and social media marketing primarily to corporate, education, and government customers in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Digital Media Services Group, and Audio and Web Conferencing Services Group. The Digital Media Services Group segment provides corporate-oriented and Web-based media services to the corporate market, including live audio and video Webcasting, and on-demand audio and video streaming for any business, government, and educational entities; and online subscription based service that comprises access to enabling technologies and features for clients to acquire, store, index, secure, manage, distribute, and transform digital assets into saleable commodities. This segment also offers a video ingestion and flash encoder that could be used by its clients on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with the Digital Media Services Platform; and automated and manual encoding and editorial services for processing digital media, using technologies and processes that allow online search, retrieval, and streaming of media, including photos, videos, audio, engineering specs, architectural plans, and Web pages. The Audio and Web Conferencing Services Group segment provides reservationless and operator-assisted audio and Web conferencing services; and connectivity within the entertainment and advertising industries through its managed network, which encompasses production and post-production companies, advertisers, producers, directors, and talent. Onstream Media Corporation was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: FormFactor Inc.(FORM)

FormFactor, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports semiconductor wafer probe card products and solutions worldwide. Its wafer probe card is used as an interface to connect electrically with and test individual chips on a wafer. The company?s wafer probe cards are also used to test dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, including double data rate (DDR), DDR2, DDR3, SDRAM, PSRAM, mobile DRAM, graphic DRAM, NOR and NAND flash memory chips, serial data devices, chipsets, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and analog devices. It serves manufacturers in the DRAM, flash, and system on chip markets through direct sales force, independent sales representatives, and value added resellers. FormFactor, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Livermore, California.

10 Best Stocks To Buy Right Now: Extreme Networks Inc.(EXTR)

Extreme Networks, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops and markets network infrastructure equipment and services to businesses, hospitals, schools, hotels, telecommunications companies, and government agencies. It offers Summit product family of stackable Ethernet switching systems that provide 10 megabit to 40 gigabit connection speeds, various physical presentations, and options to deliver power-over-Ethernet or unpowered standard Ethernet ports; and Black Diamond family of modular Ethernet switching systems, which deliver modular or chassis-based Ethernet connectivity solutions for enterprises, data centers, and service providers. The company also offers SummitWM family of wireless network controllers and associated Altitude access points to enable the deployment of nomadic and mobile converged network applications; and RidgeLine management software system that includes features tailored to data center, campus, and service provider management. It has strategic relationships with Motorola Inc., Netgear, Inc., Ericsson Enterprise AB, and Nokia Siemens Networks. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, and field sales organizations. It operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and the Asia Pacific. Extreme Networks, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Cornerstone OnDemand Inc.(CSOD)

Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. provides learning and talent management solution delivered as software-as-a-service. The company offers three integrated cloud-based solutions for learning management, performance management, and extended enterprise. Its Cornerstone Learning Cloud helps clients deliver and manage enterprise training and development programs, as well as links employee development to other parts of the talent management lifecycle, including performance management and succession planning. The company?s Cornerstone Performance Cloud allows clients to direct and measure performance at the individual, departmental, and organizational level through competency management, organizational goal setting, performance appraisal, compensation management, and development planning. Its Cornerstone Extended Enterprise Cloud helps clients extend learning and talent management to their customers, vendors, and distributors. The company also offers consulting services comprising impl ementation, integration, content, business consulting, and educational services; and account services, as well as resells third-party e-learning content. Its clients include multi-national corporations, large domestic enterprises, mid-market companies, public sector organizations, higher education institutions, and non-profit entities. The company sells its solution and services directly through its own sales force in North America and Europe; and indirectly through domestic and international network of distributors. Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Arm Holdings(ARM.L)

ARM Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design of microprocessors, physical IP, and related technology and software; and sale of development tools to enhance the performance of high-volume embedded applications. Its products include microprocessors cores, such as specific functions comprising video and graphics IP, fabric IP, embedded software, and configurable digital signal processing IP; physical IP components for the design and manufacture of integrated circuits, which comprise embedded memory, standard cell, and input/output components; software development tools that help software design engineers in the design and deployment of code, from applications running on open operating systems to low-level firmware. The company also offers support, maintenance, and training services, as well as design consulting services. ARM Holdings plc licenses and sells its technology and products to electronics companies, which in turn manufacture, market, and s ell microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits, and application-specific standard processors to systems companies for incorporation into various end products, as well as licenses and sells development tools directly to systems companies and provides support services to licensees, systems companies, and other systems designers. It operates in Europe, the United States, and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as Advanced RISC Machines Holdings Limited and changed its name to ARM Holdings plc in March 1998. ARM Holdings plc was founded in 1990 and is based in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.