London-based telecoms dealer Corporate ICT continues to be successful despite the economic climate. We spoke to Nick Wright, Managing Director, who says that the way to make a small company stronger is to run it like a big one.

Wright had plenty of big company experience working in faxes with Canon before launching his own operation, Datafax, in 1986. In 1997 he joined forces with Paul Grant, a former Canon colleague, who had set up Corporate and Business Technology. They had first become involved with telecoms in the late 1980s and in 2000, as Corporate ICT, Wright and Grant sold their non-telecoms interests to focus solely on the channel. With 24 people and revenues in the last fiscal of over £4 million, you might think that growth has been modest, but Wright is quick to put a persuasive case for looking beyond the headline figures.

"We've seen several instances recently where over confident players went on a spree with other people's money in the belief that they were invincible," said Wright. "The point is, of course, that if you use other people's money, other people own the business and call 0the shots. We've always resisted the temptation, for example, to capitalise a five year lease. In fact, we pay as much attention to our cash flow as the Met Office does to its rain gauges. Cash, quite simply, is how you keep the score."

Concentration on cash flow has helped Wright to cope with the recession. He commented: "For many companies, sophisticated communications upgrades are a luxury right now, but they need their systems to function efficiently. That's why we nurture our recurring revenue flows from maintenance and a comprehensive menu of network services that range from line rental and broadband to NGNs. Our approach means that we can concentrate on the customer. We're able to do that because we are not distracted by fragile finances. I think that every reseller's customer would agree with the Victorian statesman who said that the country had no permanent allies, only permanent interests. We have a short list of first class suppliers such as Samsung, Siemens, Telrad, Invu and Oak, with whom we have rock solid relationships and our churn levels of both customers and staff is minimal."

An unusual feature of a company of Corporate ICT's size is the appointment of Nigel Russell, who formerly headed Samsung's UK Telecoms division, as non-executive Chairman. "Nigel brings a valuable combination of extensive industry experience and incisive, disinterested judgement to the table," says Wright. "It's too easy for emotion to creep into day-to-day executive decisions. An outside view, especially from someone who knows the company so well from a supplier's viewpoint, is especially valuable."

Russell enjoys the role, saying: "A non-exec's purpose is to encourage questions - not just ask, ‘Why are you doing this?,' but ‘Why are you not doing that?'. It relies on trust. If you find yourself beating your head against a wall, it's time to quit. Conversely, when you're in tune with the company's objectives, it's highly rewarding on a personal level."

While Corporate ICT has customers nationally, it concentrates on the south east which it serves from its North London headquarters. Meanwhile, Wright is considering an acquisition programme but isn't about to bet the ranch. "I think we're in for a tough year which will see more small resellers seek an exit. We're able to make acquisitions but you can't just buy a customer base. You have to make sure that any customers you acquire are genuinely happy about the change. That can be tricky because if a reseller is under pressure, executive attention is very likely to be focused inwards on the company's own problems rather than outwards on ensuring customer satisfaction.

"I think that the channel will continue to consolidate, and while there will be fewer resellers there will still be as many - or even more - customers. In my opinion growth depends on ensuring that you keep the customers you have. Then, don't be diverted into the kind of unbalanced and contradictory activities that have led to recent high profile failures. Finally, make sure that cash is flowing in the right direction."