Wall Street has increasingly started to embrace network security and big data as themes that are likely to remain very strong in 2014. For the technology analysts at Oppenheimer, identifying robust tech trends remains critical to the stock picking process. Many of the companies in their coverage universe segment are cash rich, and several have upgraded cash utilization strategies by introducing or raising dividends, accelerating buybacks or making strategic acquisitions. These are trends that should continue during 2014. Activist interest is heating up and should benefit share prices while keeping managements focused.

Like many of the firms we cover, Oppenheimer is enthusiastic about the prospects for technology in 2014. They believe that the key drivers, which include technology advancements, an improving economy and the huge demand for big data, virtualization and data analytics, will continue to benefit their favorite stocks. Here are the favorite tech names to buy for 2014 that are leaders in these exploding new sectors. We list Oppenheimer’s top names to buy by market cap.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) is the top large cap name to buy at Oppenheimer. The company has been positioned in the Leaders Quadrant of Gartner’s recent Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection. This is the seventh consecutive year that Check Point has been named a leader. Check Point offers a series of Mobile Data Protection products that provide organizations with a full security solution that safeguards business information. The Thomson/First Call price target for this top name is $66.83. Check Point closed Friday at $65.04.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) remains a top stock to buy at Cowen for 2014. Majority owned by storage giant EMC, VMware alone contributes almost 24% of EMC’s total revenue. In the third quarter, VMware experienced a 17% rise in revenue year over year to $1.28 billion. VMware’s maintenance revenue supported this increase. The consensus price target is set at $99.38. VMware closed Friday at $93.26.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is rated a Buy at Oppenheimer and is its top mid-cap name for 2014. The firm believes the company has a first mover advantage in a market supported by strong secular growth that will provide time for the company to establish its platform strategy. Investors are urged to look for a better entry point. The consensus price target for the stock is $72.17, but Splunk closed higher than that Friday at $75.24.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) leads the list of top small caps to buy at Oppenheimer. The company announced last year a new high-performance, compact network firewall appliance for enterprise data centers, large service providers, cloud providers and carriers. Fortinet is the first network security company to deliver 100 Gbps+ firewall throughput and 40 GbE ports in a compact appliance. The consensus price target for the stock is posted at $24.38. Fortinet closed Friday at $19.56.

Imperva Inc. (NYSE: IMPV) is another top network security stock and may be a buyout candidate. The company offers SecureSphere Data Security Suite, a solution designed to prioritize and mitigate risks to high-value business data, protect against hackers and malicious insiders, and address and streamline regulatory compliance. The company’s SecureSphere is an integrated, modular suite offering database security products designed to secure business data in structured repositories in the data center. The consensus price target is pegged at $52.55. Imperva closed Friday at $50.99.

Nice Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE) is another top small cap name to buy for 2014 at Oppenheimer. The company is the worldwide leading provider of software solutions that enable organizations to take the next best action in order to improve customer experience and business results, ensure compliance, fight financial crime and safeguard people and assets. Nice’s solutions empower organizations to capture, analyze and apply, in real time, insights from both structured and unstructured big data. Investors are paid a 1.4% dividend. The consensus price target is posted at $$43.67. Nice closed Friday at $39.76.

Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT), along with Nice Systems, is a leading provider of actionable business and security intelligence solutions. Security has become one of the biggest priorities for corporate America, and the company stands to benefit from the surge in purchasing going forward. The consensus price target is $43.67. Verint closed Friday at $39.76.

Cyber threats are not going away anytime soon, and the need to analyze huge amounts of incoming data will continue to grow. Most experts are convinced that criminals and terrorists will only continue to exploit delicate information to gain financially, or at the very minimum provide huge disruptions in operations. The companies focusing on this threat will only continue to grow their revenues, as the adversaries grow their acumen for hacking and spying. The companies focused on analyzing big data will continue to supply vital information for large corporations here and abroad.

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