The integration space has long been considered an “old boys’ network,” but as you can see by the accompanying list capturing 40 of the best and brightest young talents in the industry, it’s certainly refreshing to know the next generation of leaders — and perhaps the one after that — has already emerged.

We’re sure this list — like most compilations of this kind — will generate debate, discussion and disagreement about who’s on it and who’s not. We decided to focus on integrators, consultants and programmers as well as a few others whose influence on the industry is undeniable, if not a little unorthodox.

That’s why you don’t see anyone from your favorite manufacturer included, for example. Also, this is not a ranking, but rather an alphabetical list of the honorees.

Click here to meet the Top 40 CI Influencers Under 40!

We may have fudged the “under 40” thing a tad to make sure a couple of folks whose effects on the world of integration can’t be denied were included. That said, we set the cutoff at turning 40 for during 2014.

Finally, we grouped co-workers together in a few cases, so there are technically a few more than 40 individuals on the list. With so many worthy nominees (including many who were new to us, which was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the nomination process), we didn’t want to have to pick one over another.

We hope you enjoy our selections — and let us know who we missed so we can get to know them. Let the debate begin!

Top 40 CI Influencers Under 40 of 2014:

Click here to meet the 2014 winners!