Israel Innovation 2.0

Inside Israeli Technology

aternity_logo.jpgAternity, Inc., a leader in frontline performance intelligence for Global 1000 enterprises, is a very hot Israeli company to watch right now. As with VeNotion Technologies, the company has been making headlines with regards to its partnerships and developments several times monthly. In the past few weeks, Aternity has announced that it is joining the Red Hat Inc. ISV Partner Program as a Red Hat Ready Partner and that it has earned Certified Partner Status in the Microsoft Partner Program.

Aternity’s Frontline Performance Intelligence Platform lets IT
professionals get a birds’ eye view of what programs users are running
and monitor their interaction with the company’s information. The
software can also detect problems in the early stages before most users
can, and can provide the organization with the valuable information it
needs to make sure it is running smoothly and meeting its goals.

How important is software, such as Aternity’s, to IT professionals and the enterprise right now? Aternity recently sent over some facts and figures to a colleague of mine that should provide IT professionals (and investors) with enough information and reasons to at least keep an eye on Aternity and the field, if nothing more:  

    –  According to Jean-Pierre Garbani of Forrester Research, there are
more than 30,000 enterprises that have more than 100 servers today – and
40 percent of these enterprises are potential targets for deploying end user
experience monitoring solutions.

    –  According to Forrester Research, 74 percent of end user problems are not detected by IT, which means these organizations are negatively impacted from a productivity, revenue, customer service, and delivery-time standpoint. Any enterprise interested in dramatically reducing business disruption and increasing user productivity needs to understand how IT services are consumed by end users, and how end user experience impacts business results.

    –  Aside from its partnership with Red Hat, Inc, [and Microsoft] Aternity has already gained the attention of major industry players – the VC arm of Intel recently led a $5 million investment earlier this year, and Oracle is engaging in a joint venture with the company to provide Oracle E-Business suite users with easy access to Aternity’s platform.

    –  Aternity secured Series A funding in 2005 totaling $7.5M and a Series B round of $6.5M was closed in April 2007.  

Company Facts

Founded in 2004.

Trevor Matz, President and CEO.

Eden Shochat, CTO and Co-founder.

Orit Kislev-Kapon, VP R&D and Co-founder.

Product: The Aternity Frontline Performance Intelligence Platform.

Website: www.aternity.com

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

WorldMate Hires Vice President of Marketing and Appoints Former Lastminute.com CEO to Advisory Board
WorldMate_logo.pngWorldMate, Inc., a provider of travel services for business
people on the go, announced that Jonathan Michaeli has joined the
company as vice president of marketing and that Brent Hoberman has been
appointed to the companys advisory board. WorldMate, a subsidiary of MobiMate, lets business travelers manage their complete itineraries, including travel arrangements and business meetings. Recent upgrades now provide both travel providers and travelers with the ability to change itineraries directly on their devices through WorldMate Live. 

Jacada to Present At B. Riley & Co. 9th Annual
Las Vegas Investor Conference

jacada_logo.pngPaul O’Callaghan, CEO of Jacada Ltd., will present at the B. Riley & Co. 9th
Annual Las Vegas Investor Conference at the Palms Casino Resort on April 4, 2008. According to the website,

“Jacada provides a unified desktop and process optimizations solutions that simplify, automate, and optimize work processes across disparate business systems, elimination inefficiencies and boosting productivity.”

Rim Semiconductor Company Acquires Multi-Carrier Communications, Inc. from UTEK Corporation
rimSemi_logo.pngRim Semiconductor, a company that
develops technology for telecommunications service providers, has acquired Multi-Carrier
Communications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of UTEK. According to the news release,

“The acquisition includes an exclusive worldwide license and research
program for a unique signal processing technology for copper line based
applications.”

According to the Rim website, the company,

“Develops technology for telecommunications
companies to deliver demanding new video and data services with lower
network costs and offering a better end-user experience.”

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.


beInSync_logo1.pngTechCrunch and Globes are reporting that user-driven data management company, BeInSync has been acquired by core systems firmware provider, Phoenix Technologies for $25 million. BeInSync was first featured on Israel Innovation 2.0 earlier this month after it was announced that the company was a finalist in the 2008 Webware 100′ Awards in the Utility & Security field.

According to the news release from Phoenix Technologies,

The
integration of breakthrough synchronization technology from BeInSync
will allow Phoenix and its customers to help end-users alleviate
concerns about the loss of important files and to give them complete
mobile freedom to access their data from any Internet-connected
computer.”

BeInSync founder and VP R&D Sharon Carmel will continue to work for Phoenix and its Tel Aviv operations will be maintained. Regarding whether or not BeInSync wins a Webware 100 award, its management team and investors are certainly already taking home a better prize.

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

checkPoint_logo.pngEnterprise Internet security company,
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., announced yesterday that in mid-2008, Tal Payne will be replacing current Chief Financial Officer Eyal Desheh.

Check Point is one of Israel’s largest hi-tech companies and focuses on IT
security as relates to network security, data security
and security management solutions. Some of the company’s products include its NGX platform; Pointsec product line, such as Check Point Full Disk Encryption; and the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite.

According to the Website, Check Point’s Pointsec product line offers “market leading data security
solutions” by “protecting and encrypting
sensitive corporate information stored on PCs and other mobile computing
devices.” Its Check Point Full Disk Encryption offers security on mobile devices, such as laptops, that are heavily used for business and contain confidential information outside of the office walls, where breaches are more likely to happen.

With more company information in the hands of business professionals who work away from the office, data security is essential as data breach attempts are inevitable. Security software, such as Check Point’s, can help database managers take more preventative measures to lessen the chances of data breaches happening on their watch.

Company Facts

Founded in 1993.

Gil Shwed; Founder, CEO and Chairman.

Marius Nacht; Founder and Vice Chairman.

Products: Check Point Full Disk Encryption and ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, among others.

Website: www.checkpoint.com

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

Symwave Appoints Yossi Cohen, a Senior Broadcom Veteran, as President and CEO
Symwave_logo.jpgSeasoned executive, Yossi Cohen, was appointed President and CEO of fabless semiconductor solutions provider, Symwave, Inc. The company primarily supplies high-performance
analog/mixed signal semiconductor solutions for the PC, consumer and
mobile devices.

According to the news release,

“As the first semiconductor company to implement novel CDR and
PLL techniques into standard interface consumer products, the company is
able to deliver unprecedented speed and power levels in targeted
applications within rapidly growing industries such as consumer
electronics and mobile devices.”

PicApp Gives Bloggers Access to High-End Copyrighted Images, Free of Charge; Beta Now Open to All Online Publishers
PicApp_Logo.jpgPicScout, a technology enabled service to improve the businesses of both visual assets owners and users, has launched PicApp, a new service that

“gives bloggers and other online publishers access to
copyrighted news and creative images free to use alongside their
editorial content.”

The copyrighted images are licensed from Getty Images, Corbis and other image agencies and will be updated daily. A “non-intrusive” ad will replace the traditional license fees that these web sites usually receive for the use of their images.

Internet analysis start-up Amadesa raises $5.4m
Amadesa_logo1.pngGlobes reported that Amadesa Inc., an Internet analysis start-up has raised $5.4 million in its first financing round from Carmel Ventures. According to the article, Amadesa’s technology

“provides dynamic content display (via onsite
behavioral targeting), product recommendations, shopping cart, and
billing form optimization, lead generation data collection
optimization, and A/B and multivariate testing capabilities designed to
deliver greater returns on marketing dollars spent acquiring website
traffic.”

The company currently offers both a managed service and self-service solutions.

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

diligentTechnologies_logo1.pngIt looks as though another Israeli company might be heading towards a major exit and, again, through IBM. Globes reported earlier this week that IBM is in advanced talks with Israeli enterprise data storage and deduplication solutions provider, Diligent Technologies Corp. The deal is estimated to be worth $200 million.

This news comes two months after IBM purchased its first Israeli start-up, XIV, another data storage solutions company, for $300 million. Here are some noteworthy facts and trends related to both these deals:

  1. Diligent Technologies Corp. was spun off from EMC Israel in 2002. EMC is a huge competitor of IBM.
  2. EMC Corp owns 20% of Diligent.
  3. Data Storage pioneer, Moshe Yanai sits on Diligent’s board. He is best known as a former EMC employee and technology storage legend. He also sat as XIV’s Chairman.  

According to Diligent’s website, the company is an innovator in enterprise-class disk-based data protection solutions,

“Focused on meeting the challenges of storing, protecting and
managing the ever-explosive growth of backup data and the continued
inefficiencies inherent in traditional methods.”

Diligent’s main product is the ProtecTIER platform which is one of the most “cost-effective and robust disk-based data protection solution on the market.” It is powered by HyperFactor,
and “eliminates redundant data and radically reduces the amount
and cost of physical storage required” through its innovative platform which “provides a single instance store for backup and recovery,
archive, and compliance applications.

If IBM does purchase Diligent, it will be interesting to see what response, if any, EMC will take and how IBM will integrate it.

Company Facts

Founded in 2002.

Doron Kempel, Chairman and CEO.

Ron Asher, VP of Engineering.

Products: ProtecTIER, VTF Open and VTF Mainframe

Website: www.diligent.com.

Related ITGumbo content:
AlgoSec unveils new firewall analyzer product suite.
Sentrigo releases Hedgehog 2.0.
BeInSync selected for offering Utility and Security.
High demand for Mellanox Technologies’ virtualization solutions.

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

AlgoSec Major IT media sources seem to be missing this, Firewall Operations and Security Risk Management solutions provider, AlgoSec Inc., unveiled its new AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer (AFA) product suite today.

The new suite, which improves the overall security and efficiency of enterprise firewalls, is built on three distinct software modules, each focused on addressing a specific set of technical requirements within the enterprise: Firewall Operations Management, Policy Optimization and Risk Management.

Customers will be able to purchase combinations of these modules in four pre-bundled license editions according to their specific needs. The four new editions of the AFA Product Suite are: the AFA Operations Management Edition, the AFA Optimization Edition, the AFA Risk Management Edition and the AFA Enterprise Edition.

The suite also now includes new features for automated PCI and SOX compliance reports plus Intelligent Rule Re-Ordering recommendations for improved firewall performance.

Company Facts

Founded in 2003.

Yuval Baron, CEO and Co-Founder.

Avishai Wool, CTO and Co-Founder.

Product: AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer (AFA)

Website: www.AlgoSec.com

Shunra VE Desktop Professional 4.0 Redefines Proactive Application Testing on Emulated Networks to Support the Entire Application Development Lifecycle

Shunra_logo.pngShunra Vertual Enterprise recently announced the release of version 4.0 of its Shunra Virtual Enterprise (VE) Desktip Professional WAN emulation solution. According to the news release,

“VE Desktop Professional 4.0 enables users
to test application performance under a variety of existing and
potential network conditions, directly from the desktop. This new
Windows-based version adds critical customer-driven features, including:
integration with HP LoadRunner and QuickTest Professional (QTP) load
tools, a thorough application analysis module, and a robust testing and
reporting repository.”

Invoke Solutions Receives $7 MM in Funding
invoke_logo.pngReal-time researching technologies provide, Invoke Solutions, has raised $7 million in funding from North Atlantic Capital, Bain Capital and BEV Capital. According to the news release,

“The financing comes as Invoke launches its Engage Family of Research Solutions, enabling them to deliver a broader array of quali-quant online and mobile research services to the market research industry. Invoke will use this funding to continue developing its unique enterprise feedback management platform and increase its delivery capabilities across all parts of the company as they expland their customer relationships on a global basis.”

Some of Invoke’s clients include Fortune 1000 companies such as, Washington Mutual, Dell, Nestle and Microsoft.

Microsoft to Expand Investment in Desktop Virtualization With Acquisition of Kidaro
kidaro_logo.pngThe big news from the week of March 9th is Microsoft’s acquisition of enterprise desktop virtualization solutions provider, Kidaro. According to the news release,

“In combining Kidaro’s virtualization technology with its suite of
desktop management tools, known as the Microsoft Desktop Optimization
Pack for Software Assurance, Microsoft will enable IT professionals to
optimize their desktop infrastructure by providing management
capabilities for Virtual PCs, streamlining deployments and easing
application compatibility issues.”

It will also allow desktops to run both Windows XP and Windows Vista on the same computer.

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

Sentrigo_logo.pngEarlier this week, Sentrigo, Inc., an enterprise database security software provider, announced the release of Hedgehog 2.0.

According to the news release, the updates to Hedgehog 2.0 now allow Microsoft SQL Server users to

enjoy the same
level of security provided by Sentrigos
Hedgehog to Oracle database usersdefending
against insider breaches, external attacks and vulnerability exploits.

Regular followers of ITGumbo’s parent website, ebizQ.net, should be familiar with Sentrigo from a podcast that ebizQ’s Security Editor, Peter Schooff did with Sentrigo Vice President of Marketing, Rani Osnat, last summer. In it, the two discuss virtual patching and granularity (Hedgehog’s main differentiation points) and what gives it its flexibility to work within a dynamic, shared system (the database) without requiring downtime or preventing other work, unrelated to the vulnerability, from continuing.

The company’s innovativeness in an area of growing concern for database managers hasn’t only caught the attention of ebizQ though. Data security-related websites and blogs throughout the Web have covered the company and its active blogger, CTO and co-founder, Slavik Markovich.

Anyone who wants to get an idea of the data security field, Sentrigo, and Markovich’s role in the company’s success, should check out his blog, “Musings on Database Security.” IT professionals serious about security and preventing database breaches, should consider Hedgehog 2.0 as a possible software solution. There are two main versions of Hedgehog: Hedgehog Enterprise and Hedgehog Standard. Hedgehog Standard can be downloaded for free via Sentrigo’s website.

Company Facts

Founded in 2006.

Nathan Shuchami – Co-founder and CEO.

Slavik Markovich – Co-founder and CTO.

Products: Hedgehog Enterprise, Hedgehog Standard and Hedgehod IDentifier.

Website: www.sentrigo.com

About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.

eyeBlaster_logo.pngGlobes is reporting that EyeBlaster, an online advertising campaign developer, has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Nasdaq, and that it is the first company with Israel-ties to do so in a while.

According to the company’s original news release, its software allows its customers

to manage campaigns across digital media
channels, including online, mobile and in-game, and a variety of
formats, including rich media, in-stream video, display and search.

EyeBlaster Rich Media, enables the creation, deployment and management of in-banner and out-of-banner ad formats, such as an expandable banner, a polite banner, a push down banner and a full-page overlay ad.

EyeBlaster’s primary competitors are Google’s DoubleClick and Microsoft’s Atlas. According to the Matimop database, EyeBlaster’s target end users are interactive ad agencies, media buyers, infrastructure suppliers and individual publishers.

Below is an edition of the Hawthorne Videoactive Report on YouTube from last month that mentions some of EyeBlaster’s recent research findings. The first 36 seconds of the report cover EyeBlaster.

Company Facts:

Founded in 1999.

R&D based in Ra’anana.

Gal Trifon – Co-founder and CEO.

Ofer Zadikario – Co-founder and Chief Solution Officer (CSO).

Products: EyeBlaster Ad Campaign Manager, EyeBlaster Rich Media, EyeBlaster Search, etc.

Website: www.eyeblaster.com

Related ITGumbo content:

AT&T acquisitions and the future of business

Quigo on the sales block

AOL does it again: Purchases Yedda

ClickTale Ltd. takes web analytics to the next level

PLYmedia gets reply


About the author:
Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.