Israel Innovation 2.0

When I think of technology in Israel, I immediately think of Israel’s contributions to the international community. Until this past weekend, I hadn’t really thought about how outside technological advancements have impacted Israel. On Friday night though, I was at a small dinner party and we got onto the topic of jobs we all have; at least 4 people (myself included) currently work for companies based in the United States. We are all able to do this because of the Internet.

Aside from these people, I have met several others over the past few weeks who also have jobs with American companies and are able to work remotely because of technological advancements. The ability to telecommute has helped change the employment landscape in Israel and has helped make it easier for new immigrants to move to Israel and either find work/or continue their job.

Telecommuting is starting to become such a popular trend that Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that helps people move to Israel, has a special section on its Website offering advice on how to convince an employer to let you continue your job from abroad. Some of the advancements the Website lists include Internet, phone (VoIP) and fax. Although under Internet it mentions accessing the company’s network remotely, I would also include Web 2.0 programs that are used by a company for collaboration and/or management purposes, such as Gmail, Basecamp and Salesforce.com.

I have received a few inquiries about why I decided to start a blog on innovation in Israel and would like to use this entry to address the question. My background is originally in communication studies, with a concentration in advertising and public relations. In the communication industry, technology plays a huge role in every part of the process of developing and carrying out a campaign, including how data is collected and analyzed (i.e., Google Analytics, SPSS), researched (i.e., blogs and wikis), designed (i.e., Adobe Creative Suite 3), and so on.

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The other day I came across the homepage for the VON Israel telecommunications conference next month and quickly noticed that it is produced by Pulvermedia. Pulvermedia is the creation of telecommunications guru, Jeff Pulver, and VON Israel is one of several “Voice on the Net” events that Pulvermedia produces. VON Israel next month will provide a forum for leaders in “all sectors of IP communications” in Israel to “come together to discuss, debate and advance the industry.”

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According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel will launch its “most-advanced satellite” on an Indian missile. The article states that the satellite is “capable of transmitting tiny images in all weather conditions.” The satellite was developed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and contains Synthetic Aperture Radar capabilities developed by its Elta subsidiary.

This is not the only major joint-defense project by the two countries recently and is just one of many deals that IAI has made with foreign countries over the years. An article on Ynet last week reported that a Dun & Bradstreet study listed IAI as the business world’s most interesting Israeli company because of its many deals abroad.

Aside from being a major player in the technology industry abroad, the company plays an important role in Israel’s economy by employing over 15,000 workers. Additionally, while it is mainly focused on defense technology, it also has a commercial aircraft subsidiary and is one of the oldest technology companies in Israel being founded shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel.

Waste some, get more
Israel21c and Arutz Sheva are reporting that Israeli biomass energy company, Genova Ltd., will be opening a pilot plant to produce heat and electricity from the pits of olives. Just as excess corn in the United States can be turned into bioethanol for a cleaner energy, olives, which are prolific in Mediterranean countries, can be harnessed for cleaner, environmentally friendly energy as well. The plant will be located in Julis, a Druze village in northern Israel.

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Waste some, get more
Israel21c and Arutz Sheva are reporting that Israeli biomass energy company, Genova Ltd., will be opening a pilot plant to produce heat and electricity from the pits of olives. Just as excess corn in the United States can be turned into bioethanol for a cleaner energy, olives, which are prolific in Mediterranean countries, can be harnessed for cleaner, environmentally friendly energy as well. The plant will be located in Julis, a Druze village in northern Israel.

I received an email yesterday about registering for the 2007 DemoGermany conference in Munich next month. This is a major annual conference that features a select number of tech companies’ innovative products and considers itself “The Launchpad for Emerging Technology”. Of the main demonstrators this year, two are Israeli companies. One is the Yakum-based company, WorkLight (formerly known as Serendipity Technologies), that lets workers “increase productivity by defining their own enterprise application experience,” and the other is the Beit Shemesh-based company that I mentioned in my last post, Vringo, Inc. Vringo is the company to watch in the evolution of sharing video ringtones.

I received an email yesterday about registering for the 2007 DemoGermany conference in Munich next month. This is a major annual conference that features a select number of tech companies’ innovative products and considers itself “The Launchpad for Emerging Technology”. Of the main demonstrators this year, two are Israeli companies. One is the Yakum-based company, WorkLight (formerly known as Serendipity Technologies), that lets workers “increase productivity by defining their own enterprise application experience,” and the other is the Beit Shemesh-based company that I mentioned in my last post, Vringo, Inc. Vringo is the company to watch in the evolution of sharing video ringtones.

continue reading…

CNN Money reported last week that most venture capital funding in the first half of 2007 went to Europe and Israel. Israel being near the top of the list for funding isn’t very surprising. In the past 20 years, engineers in Israel have created the technology behind innovations such as, AOL Instant Messenger and several Intel microprocessing chips. These types of advancements have caused established companies such as Microsoft and Google to take notice and to open R&D facilities in Israel, and venture capitalists to look for investment opportunities in up-and-coming technology-related businesses in Israel. Some innovative Israeli start-ups that have received VC funding recently include, Vringo (a mobile video ringtone sharing service), MediaBoost (develops technologies for decision-making in online advertising) and Metacafe (a video-sharing site).

CNN Money reported last week that most venture capital funding in the first half of 2007 went to Europe and Israel. Israel being near the top of the list for funding isn’t very surprising. In the past 20 years, engineers in Israel have created the technology behind innovations such as, AOL Instant Messenger and several Intel microprocessing chips. These types of advancements have caused established companies such as Microsoft and Google to take notice and to open R&D facilities in Israel, and venture capitalists to look for investment opportunities in up-and-coming technology-related businesses in Israel. Some innovative Israeli start-ups that have received VC funding recently include, Vringo (a mobile video ringtone sharing service), MediaBoost (develops technologies for decision-making in online advertising) and Metacafe (a video-sharing site).