Where would you most enjoy working?

A list of the 100 best companies to work for in the UK has seen a mere half dozen entries for technology companies, though that pack is led by a small, privately owned Enfield-based software house that counts Microsoft R&D labs as one of its customers.

The Sunday Times annual list is well regarded and was indeed last year topped by Bill Gates' company, down this time at number 13. Also in the top 50 for 2004 are Electronic Arts (at 21), Computer Associates (24), Cisco Systems (39) and SAS UK (41).

However, it is Data Connection, founded in 1981 by ex-IBMer Ian Ferguson, that stands out. It isn't publicly quoted, like the US giants on the list (with the exception of SAS, still regarded in some circles as the best US software house to remain private) but owned by its staff, who work in Chester, Edinburgh and the US as well as Enfield.

As you might expect at a company that "prefers to concentrate on technical areas where there is a high level of technical complexity", staff are well rewarded and share in seemingly ever-increasing profits off sales of £25.5m by last year. However, it is the other things that bolster the company's standing.

"Maybe I was ahead of the game but I realised from day one that you should be flexible," Data Connection chairman Ian Ferguson told silicon.com. "Are you a lark or an owl? Are you an early riser or late worker? It's entirely wrong to be prescriptive."

Another early decision was to not accept any outside funding, from venture capitalists or others, to "remain masters of our own destiny", according to Ferguson. However, he added that an IPO can never be counted out entirely.

But while few tech players make the top 100, some do also appear in a pull-out list of those places where people aspire to work. In this list, EA comes in at number three (even if working there is not all about game playing), Microsoft at five and Cisco at joint ninth.

Top of this year's overall top 100 was WL Gore, creators of the Gore-Tex material. SC Johnson, which often tops similar lists in the US, came in at 51.