Tech firm worries at Davos

Microsoft's Bill Gates speaks on Monday morning

US technology companies have voiced their fears about the impact of the slowing economy on their business.

The World Economic Forum in Davos has been dominated by fears of what a US slowdown could mean for the world economy as well as individual companies.

Many technology companies have already issued profit warnings, but in interviews with the BBC at Davos, some of the world's biggest tech companies said they thought the longer term prospects were good.

Cisco

The world's second-biggest company, Cisco Systems, has voiced its fears about the slowing US economy.

In an interview with the BBC, Cisco's chief executive John Chambers warned that the economy was slowing faster than people realise.

But while the short term may be uncertain, he says he is optimistic about the long-term.

Mr Chambers believes his company could grow by 30% to 50% a year during the next three to five years, a rate of growth it has achieved in past years.

The computer networking giant reported profits of $1.36bn in the three months to 28 October, compared to $814m a year earlier

Speaking to the BBC, Sun Microsystems' Masood Jabbar, executive vice president of global sales operations, said: "If the economy slows down, we are not immune to it."

But he added that "the world economy is generally reasonably good from a Sun Microsystems perspective".

Compaq's Peter Blackmore, executive vice president, worldwide sales and services, told the BBC that their estimates for growth in the first half were conservative, although he added they were "confident of a soft landing".

The conventional PC market may be slowing down - as many consumers already have a computer - but demand from business to update their systems remains strong, he said.