Here are the best tech companies to work for in Australia

Multinational research firm Great Places to Work has revealed its Best Places to Work list in Australia for 2016.

The list was once again dominated by IT and technology firms, accounting for 21 of the 50 companies named. The study surveyed 51,937 employees from 135 businesses based on a number of key metrics such as credibility, fairness and respect.

Here is a countdown of the technology companies that made the list, starting with the tech firms in the category for "100 employees or more" and then moving onto the tech firms in the "fewer than 100 employees" category.

100 employees or more

Odecee, a Cognizant company, is a consultancy company focused on enterprise applications. The Australia-based firm has 222 employees. It has worked on projects such as ANZ's mobile app, Australia Post's Parcel Send application and a tablet app for Starlight Children's Foundation.

Odecee supports its female employees through Girls@Odecee, a meeting that happens every six months, where they discuss concerns, achievements and more issues facing women in IT, according to Great Places to Work.

100 employees or more

Melbourne-based Pexa is a 201-staff company that has developed a secure online platform for property transactions.

According to Great Places to Work's listing on Pexa, people from across the company got together to adapt the expression of the company's values to the changing business goals. New ways were found to inspire employees with simple yet effective Pexa value definitions.

100 employees or more

Kronos Australia is a workforce management solutions provider with 108 employees.

Employees are referred to as 'Kronites'. Communication from senior leadership is a big part of the life at Kronos. The chief executive communicate frequently uses his video blog to share updates on anything from the company performance to the excitement about the global employee engagement scores.

100 employees or more

Software-as-a-service provider Infotrack has made its second appearance on the list. The company has 159 employees.

Infotrack's employees are regularly encouraged to ask questions on anything related to their role or the business in general, according to Great Places to Work.

100 employees or more

Founded in 2006, Envato employs 196 employees and operates several digital marketplaces targeted at web designers.

Employees at the Melbourne-based company are encouraged to make suggestions and be part of decisions, said Great Places to Work. When developing the company's values, vision and mission, the chief executive met with all employees throughout a series of workshops and also sought input from the community to work together on its formulation. Since its creation, a group called Out@Envato was formed to promote inclusiveness for individuals identifying as part of the LGBTI community.

100 employees or more

Ansarada is a virtual data room vendor with focus in M&A. The company has 103 employees.

Ansarada has an exercise that involves managers and employees sharing their top five personal values from a deck of 52 values cards. There is also the Ansarada culture book, which brings the values to life and serves to inspire each other. The culture book is updated with each new hire joining the virtual data room provider, according to Great Places to Work.

100 employees or more

SAS Australia is a business analytics software and services provider with 275 employees.

SAS supports its employees inside and outside the workplace, with a range of on-site services and health and wellbeing programs including initiatives such as SAS 'biggest loser' challenges, cycling events, stress management, and nutrition seminars. SAS also has a number of flexible leave options, such as additional service leave and 40 weeks maternity leave.

Pictured: Managing director David Bowie

100 employees or more

Autodesk Australia is the local arm of the software vendor, focused on architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing.

According to Great Places to Work, the 139-staff company has a philosophy of mature directness encouraging an open and collaborative environment.

100 employees or more

NetApp Australia is the local operation of the global storage and data management vendor.

NetApp, which employs 202 people in Australia, has a culture of giving back to the community, according to Great Places to Work. The NetApp Gives Philanthropic Committee is made up of all levels of staff that make decisions regarding charity partnerships and the allocation of funds for philanthropic initiatives.

A volunteer program enables all employees to take up to five paid business days per calendar year to participate in community volunteer activities of their choice.

100 employees or more

Adobe Systems is an America-headquartered software vendor that has 245 employees in Australia.

Adobe's programs include the Founders' Awards, an annual program that recognises employees that have best exemplified Adobe's values and made a significant contribution to the company. Australian employees are part of the You Rock award that recognises contributions to Adobe Asia-Pacific from any part of the business, from individuals or teams.

100 employees or more

Atlassian is a Sydney-headquartered software vendor with 881 employees. Last year the company was top of the list and this is its sixth consecutive appearance among the top 10.

Caitriona Staunton, head of recruiting Asia-Pacific at Atlassian, said: "Atlassian is thrilled to once again be recognised as a best place to work, alongside 15 of our customers.

"As a values-driven company, we put a lot of energy into creating an inclusive workplace where people can do the best work of their lives. We look at it as mission critical to our goal of improving teamwork at the Fortune 500,000, not just the Fortune 500."

Pictured: Founder Scott Farquhar

100 employees or more

Salesforce is a cloud computing company that was ranked No.3 in the 2014 Great Places to Work. The company has 684 employees in Australia.

It has been a good year for Salesforce with revenue up, an increase in client engagement and more employees being hired, according to Great Places to Work. Salesforce culture is built around the spirit of Ohana, which means family in Hawaiian. Ohana represents the idea of families being bound together, and members feel a sense of responsibility for one another.

Salesforce has partnerships with organisations focused on STEM skills in Australia to address the decline of women enrolling in related courses. The company also runs code sessions in the Sydney and Melbourne offices for local students.

Pictured: Worldwide chief executive Marc Benioff

Fewer than 100 employees

Concur is a travel management company, owned by software giant SAP, and has 94 employees in Australia.

Every year, as the company sets corporate objectives, these are filtered down across the business and down to each department and to each individual. As part of this annual process, employees set their own objectives to be achieved within the next year and their managers and the company then work on a strategy and a plan to assist in meeting these objectives and supporting development.

Director of business development Asia-Pacific Murray Warner (pictured) said: "We are delighted to be part of GPTW's top 50 and we are even more pleased to be come in at number 25. Providing our employees with a great working environment is important for our culture and I'm glad our efforts are being recognised."

Fewer than 100 employees

Sitback Solutions is a digital agency with 41 employees.

The company prides itself on its networks and the company's employee referral rate is exceptionally high, according to Great Places to Work. In the past 18 months, 11 out of 14 new employees have come through networks and referrals.

Referrals from current team members ensure a good culture fit. Each new member is welcomed during the Friday companywide meeting with welcome notes wishing them good luck in the Love Box.

Fewer than 100 employees

BigCommerce is an Australia-based software provider with 51 employees.

On a new hire’s first day, the team fills a big bucket full of chocolate and lollies and places it on the new employee's desk, which attracts other members of staff to come and welcome the new employee.

Fewer than 100 employees

Campaign Monitor provides software for email marketing. The company has 86 employees.

Every team member is encouraged to attend training, whether a meetup around the corner or a big conference on the other side of the world, said Great Places to Work. The company offers the Campaign Monitor University, a program where team members are able to work with mentors throughout the organisation to help achieve their career goals.

Pictured: Co-founder David Greiner

Fewer than 100 employees

Meltwater provides a social media monitoring service and employs 62 people.

Director ANZ David Hickey said: “At Meltwater employee happiness and job satisfaction are built on two key things. The first is our staff have fun doing their jobs. Second is they feel a strong sense of belonging due to the recognition they receive and our supportive culture, which is based on respect and openness.

"We do everything we can help people enjoy the work they do by creating genuine connections between their day to day jobs and the company’s overall mission and objectives.”

Pictured: Managing director Shasank Mohapatra

Fewer than 100 employees

Another Aussie IT consultancy that made the list is Mexia, a Microsoft analytics partner with 40 employees.

Mexia encourages a learning culture where new things are constantly shared, reported Great Place to Work. Brown bag lunch sharing sessions or half-day Hackathons are common. Employees are encouraged to take time away from customers to absorb new technologies. Quarterly events have time allocated for people to run a 10-minute sessions on any topic dear to them, not necessarily related to work.

Pictured: Chief executive Dean Robertson

Fewer than 100 employees

Insentra is an Australia-based IT consultancy firm with 42 employees.

Managing director Ronnie Altit (pictured) said: "What a great result – we are honoured to be 8th in the 2016 Best Place to Work Study. We could not have achieved this without the effort and dedication of our team and their commitment to our business.

"We thank them for being an integral part of creating what we have achieved today. Our team has always been our number one priority and it’s great to have evidence of what have always known to be true – one team! One dream!"

Fewer than 100 employees

Altis Consulting is an information management company based in Australia. The company employs 75 people.

Altis’ philosophy is that its technical offering will change over time, but the commitment to "connecting with courage, heart and insight' with their clients, fellow team members and partners will not change.

Fewer than 100 employees

Australia-headquartered 4mation Technologies is a web and software development company with 63 employees.

The company practises its value of transparency by making the business plans, processes, and policies available to the entire team via the online knowledge base.

All employees are encouraged to contribute, and every quarter each team prepares a plan on how they can contribute to the overall business plan. Open communication is promoted through open discussion, weekly one-on-ones, quarterly feedback forums, and team lunches with the chief executive.

Pictured: Chief executive Dane Eldridge

Fewer than 100 employees

Rackspace is a storage and data management company with 94 employees locally.

ANZ general manager Angus Dorney: "This achievement is a well-deserved acknowledgement of our incredible team and their dedication to helping their peers. While we’ve continued to rank highly over the past few years, our focus has never shifted from growing our workplace and the opportunities it presents to our incredibly valued, talented employees.

"We believe it is this commitment that’s seen us take top place this year."