Emergent Software was founded in 2015 with a shared conviction: Great people doing great work naturally leads to long-term success.
Emergent Software was founded in 2015 by Jamie Anderson and Mark Bajema, two technology business owners whose companies had worked together for over a decade before they decided to consolidate them into something bigger. From day one, Emergent delivered cloud, software, and data engineering solutions — well before cloud-first was an industry talking point. The founding conviction was simple: businesses needed a strategic partner who could help them get the most out of emerging cloud technology, and Microsoft was the platform best positioned to deliver it.
The early years were defined by the kind of deliberate, client-focused work that builds lasting relationships rather than quick wins. By 2018, that expertise was formally recognized when Emergent achieved Microsoft Gold Partner status — at the time the highest tier of Microsoft partnership available and a validation of the technical depth the team had built in a short period of time.
In 2020, the pandemic prompted a decision that would permanently shape how Emergent operates. When the office closed and the team did not miss a beat, it became clear that a remote-first model was not just viable; it was an advantage. Removing the geographic constraint of the Twin Cities meant access to a significantly deeper pool of technology talent across the United States. The team grew meaningfully from that point forward, and in 2023 Emergent expanded its talent reach further by adding engineers from Latin America, bringing additional depth and capacity to a growing project portfolio.
The growth was recognized externally when Emergent made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America for the first time in 2021. The recognition has been consistent every year since, reflecting sustained growth driven by client relationships that compound over time rather than one-off project wins.
In 2022 Emergent launched Emergent Connect, an annual gathering that brings the entire remote team together in one place for the first time each year. For a company built on remote-first culture, Emergent Connect is more than a company event -- it's the cornerstone of how the team stays connected, aligned, and invested in each other across the distance that separates them the rest of the year.
As the Microsoft ecosystem evolved and AI capabilities became central to how enterprise technology gets built and delivered, Emergent evolved with it. Emergent Software's AI capabilities developed organically from existing client work in 2023, building on years of data platform, cloud, and software expertise to add a practice area that now shapes both how Emergent delivers work and what it delivers for clients.
Today Emergent holds six Microsoft Solutions Partner designations, multiple advanced specializations, Fabric Featured Partner status, and Microsoft Direct CSP standing; a credential portfolio that reflects a decade of sustained investment in validated Microsoft expertise. The company that started as a small team with a clear point of view about cloud technology has grown into a full-stack Microsoft partner trusted by organizations across industries to deliver the solutions that matter most to their business.
In 2025 we celebrated ten years of building technology solutions for clients. In this milestone video, hear from our founders and team as they reflect on Emergent's journey from humble beginnings to becoming a trusted Microsoft Solutions Partner with deep expertise across Azure, AI, and enterprise-scale delivery.
Emergent launched in 2015 with a deliberate focus on cloud-native delivery at a time when most firms were still anchored to on-premises thinking. That early conviction shaped everything that followed.
Emergent was built for the Microsoft ecosystem. That focus produced the kind of depth that generalists cannot match and earned Emergent its first Microsoft Gold Partner designation in 2018.
When the pandemic closed our office in 2020, our team did not miss a beat. That realization led to permanent remote-first operations and access to a national talent pool that raised the bar on every team we staff.
Early engagements focused on specific solutions. As expertise deepened across cloud, data, software, security, and AI, Emergent evolved into a full-stack partner designing connected systems.
In 2023 AI capabilities evolved organically from Emergent's existing work, embedding agentic development into delivery and adding AI feature development for clients. It changed both how we build and what we build.
The history on this page is only meaningful because of the client relationships behind it. Tell us about your organization and let us show you what the next chapter looks like together.
Emergent Software delivers data platforms, Azure cloud, AI, custom software development, and security solutions as a certified Microsoft Solutions Partner.
