Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Though bigger isn’t always necessarily better, for the companies on our top ten list it seems to be working just fine.

Combined it’s likely these firms could just about rule the planet, if they’re surreptitiously not already. And with the continual shift to all things techno, tech giants are likely to continue getting bigger.

Who are these behemoths? The following list of Top 10 Tech Giants below are a pretty good representation.

10. Sony

We must give our friends from the Land of the Rising Sun their due; they know how to make ‘em big. Now there are a lot of ways to measure the tech giants; revenues, market capitalization and number of employees to name a few. No matter how you slice, these guys long went beyond making TV’s and stereos. They are legitimate tech behemoths and a good start to the list.

9. Panasonic

Well, since we’re already in the neighborhood let’s drop in to see what’s going on over at Panasonic. Like Sony, this Japanese based company is probably best known for electronics of all sorts. As well they should be; they just about wrote the (electronic) book on gadgets and electronic goodies. But, like a lot of good companies, they realized long ago there are other mountains to climb and tons of money to be made. Even when you translate their $8.6 trillion yen in revenue each year to real money, they’re doing pretty well.

8. Samsung Electronics

Okay, one more before we return to the shores of the good ‘ol U.S. of A. South Korea’s Samsung is by no means strictly one of our tech giants, though certainly qualify as that. With about 200,000 employees worldwide producing everything from printers to cameras to tvs, these guys have their toes dipped into a lot of different water. Not surprisingly the company’s headquarters are in; you guessed it, Samsung Town.

7. Hewlett-Packard

Started in a one-car garage by buddies Bill of Hewlett and Dave of Packard fame, HP remains an industry stalwart. They flirted with being number one in size, along with the next addition on the list, for quite some time. Even though the internet and smartphone boom rocketed a few companies by them you don’t have to go far to find an HP computer, printer or other techno-gadget.

6. Dell

Like so many it seems Dell’s beginnings are the stuff of legend. Still a student, Michael Dell started this little company in his dorm room the University of Texas. Before long, he was forced to make a decision; stay in school or potentially lose a bazillion dollars by not growing my new business? Decisions, decisions. Lucky for the cost-conscious consumer he chose the latter, providing solid Dell computer performance with some pretty good value. The company still has it’s home offices in Austin, Texas, though the address has been changed to 1 Dell Way. It’s good to be king.

5. IBM

Who can forget the image of the clean-cut recent college grads dressed to the nines in their dark suits and ties? In fact there’s been a resurgence as “IBM’er” once again makes its way into our lexicon. Internet and software seems to be where the biggest of the big boys play nowadays, but IBM’s focus on IT hardware and equipment hasn’t treated them poorly by any means. At $211 billion, IBM can still throw a lot a weight around if the get the itch to.

4. Oracle

With about 110,000 employees around the world Larry Ellison’s Oracle has become a leader in both software and hardware components and applications. Their big enough, oh a dinky $137 billion give or take, and make everyone around them enough money it’s easy to forgive Larry for taking advantage. He’s about as famous for his annual pay as his company is in the IT industry. Depending on the year, his total packages are usually in the $80 million range or thereabouts. It takes a LOT to manage the yachts, multiple homes and corporate jets you know; that’s stuff doesn’t come free!

3. Microsoft

Like Microsoft or hate Microsoft, you got to hand it to Bill. A shrewd businessman who put his now considerable money where his mouth is; in the Microsoft company and brand. He’s worth more than most small companies not because of his crazy salaries and annual income (aka Larry Ellison) but because he owns stock; a whole bunch of it. And when your software and related businesses generate almost $70 billion annually all that stock is going to be worth a little something. He’s since passed on the day-to-day management, but somehow I have a hard time thinking of him retired.

2. Google

Few companies have come so far, so fast as the search engine behemoth Google. This company puts most all other tech giants to absolute shame. It didn’t seem too long ago Google was in a fight with Yahoo to see who do our searching for us. Turns out, it was no contest. Google has since grown to 10 times the size of their formal rivals and has their hands in everything from social networking to smartphones.

1. Apple

It was a momentous occasion for many when, in late 2010, Apple officially passed Microsoft to become the largest IT company in the known universe. That would have been enough for many; but the late Steve Jobs could never be considered one of the many. Apple is, by virtually all measures the biggest of all the tech giants on the planet. Think Apple Macintosh, iPhone, iPad… the list goes on and on … Depending on how the stock is doing that day, Apple is the largest company, period. Maybe if Obama asks real nice they’d write the government a check to wipe away the bazillion dollar deficit? Heck, Apple wouldn’t even miss it.