2009 Dynamic Dozen, No. 5: Duck Creek Technologies

Duck Creek Technologies Inc. is growing up and spreading its wings.

The company started in Bolivar in 2000 and proved to be an entrepreneurial wunderkind, winning a place among the Inc. 500 - for the first of three times - just five years later.

Now, "we're really out of that entrepreneurial stage, and there are always changes that come with that," said Robin Robeson, Duck Creek's vice president of corporate services. "We're becoming a little more of a mature company, and as the company matures, so does everything else."

Duck Creek's niche is providing software to mid-size insurance carriers who use Duck Creek's Web-based application to build, sell and service new insurance products, revolutionizing product development and drastically reducing costs.

The company's 2008 revenues were nearly $29.3 million, up from $22.7 million in 2007.

Duck Creek added a sales office in Farmington, Conn., in 2002. In 2007, the company added a third U.S. office in Columbia, S.C., and an office in Britain. The company now employs approximately 245 people, more than 70 percent of them in Bolivar, and counts close to 40 insurance carriers among its clients. According to the company's Web site, those companies include United America Indemnity Group, Dovetail Insurance Corp. and Auto-Owners Insurance Co.

"I think the fact that we have three offices now in the U.S., not to mention one in the U.K., is really a testament that the company is growing and being successful," said Robeson, who left Commerce Trust Co. and joined Duck Creek in November 2007.

Executives say the secret to that success is simple: Product.

"Duck Creek continues to fulfill a clear market need through its innovative product offering," said Steve Hall, CEO of Duck Creek Technologies.

Duck Creek has just completed the internal release of version 4.0 of its Example Platform, and it is preparing to introduce its new billing product to the market.

The company will run its new releases through their paces during Duck Creek's 2009 User Flocking April 26-29 in Springfield. The annual event will bring more than 50 customers, prospects and industry analysts to the University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, educating them on the latest Duck Creek products and "providing a nice economic impact for the local community," Robeson said.

While Duck Creek has continued to grow and add to its product offerings, that doesn't mean it hasn't faced its share of challenges along the way.

"I don't think there's a business out there that can say that the economy hasn't impacted their business," Robeson said. "Duck Creek is no different in that regard."

While the company has not experienced major layoffs, it did downsize by 23 employees across all three of its locations last fall.

"In October, we had to reevaluate where we were at based on what we saw, or what we predicted, for the upcoming year to make certain we were in a financial situation able to weather what might turn out to be a longer economic recovery," Robeson said. "We had to make a really tough decision and had to lay off a very small percentage of our staff."

Painful though it was, "it put us in a position to be very strong and stable financially so that we could weather the financial storm," she added.

Meanwhile, in key strategic areas, staff is expanding, with the company currently seeking C# programmers. Job postings appear on the company's newly redesigned Web site at www.duckcreektech.com.[[In-content Ad]]