Diversity protects tech firm from credit crunch

by Catherine Woods - Thursday, 31st July 2008 -

In times of economic strife, the phrase ‘diversify or die’ gets bandied around a lot. But that’s what BIW Technologies did after the bottom fell out of the London property market following the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001, and the strategy is paying off.

BIW sells web-based applications to support construction projects. Chief executive Colin Smith says the company initially had large exposure to commercial property development but after 9/11, branched into sectors such as government, healthcare and education.

“We put a lot of effort into diversifying the business into areas that wouldn’t be blown around by the economy such as domestic house building and commercial property development,” Smith says.

The £7.2m-turnover technology firm is also protected from the ebbs and flows of the economy because of its strength in the Middle East. It has set up an office in Dubai with plans to expand into other jurisdictions in the region.

“We’re heavily supplemented by turnover from the Middle East,” Smith says. “We’ve experienced no negative impact from the credit crunch so far. I do expect, though, that we’ll see some kind of an impact but I believe we’re well insulated from it."

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