A story published in ‘Contract Journal’ on 20 October made inaccurate references to BIW´s funding and its software licensing practices.
The article by John Leitch suggested that BIW had “received significant venture capital funding,” and also claimed that the company sold perpetual licences for its software, rather than seeking monthly customer subscription payments.
BIW wrote to the editor of ‘Contract Journal’ on 22 October:
"With respect to the article "4Projects plugs in to make a £590k profit" (CJ, 20.10.2004), can I please briefly correct two of the assertions relating to BIW Technologies.
"First, it is not accurate to put BIW alongside BuildOnline as receiving "significant venture capital funding". Unlike BuildOnline, BIW directors and staff continue to hold more than 45% of our business. BIW´s funding was used to establish the robust infrastructure and industry strength application software provided to our 38,000 users.
"Secondly, BIW does not and has never sold perpetual licences for its software. Like 4Projects, we seek monthly subscriptions from our customers, and we account for these revenues only in the month we receive them. This is why we have an order book of un-invoiced revenues of £6 million (and growing!).
"Yours faithfully, Colin Smith, Chief Executive, BIW Technologies"
- ends -
Notes to editors:
- Project collaboration services from BIW Technologies (www.biwtech.com) were first employed in 1999 on UK construction projects for Sainsbury’s. BIW believes it is the European leader in web-based collaboration systems for the construction and property industry, measured by numbers of users, usage and volume of data.
- BIW Information Channel is a sophisticated web-based supply chain integration technology, designed specifically for construction projects or programmes. Each client is provided with a unique, project or programme-specific website created around a knowledge database. With this, data can be made available securely to every team member – from the earliest concepts, through detailed design, buildability studies, pre-fabrication, construction, maintenance, operation and improvement to the eventual demolition or dismantling of the facility.
- At 24 October 2004, the total number of BIW Information Channel users had reached 38,054, from 4115 different companies. Collectively, these users had logged in 5.5 million times, to work on over 2200 projects with a total capital value estimated at around £16 billion.
- BIW customers include United Utilities, Sainsbury’s, BAA, housebuilders Crest Nicholson and the Peabody Trust, Marks & Spencer, the Ministry of Defence, the Wellcome Trust, O2, Mace, Bovis Lend Lease, Kajima, Gleeds and developers Stanhope, Land Securities, Stannifer and Garbe.
- BIW and BIW Information Channel are registered trademarks or trademarks of BIW Technologies Ltd.
