What newsworthy events came from Israel in May? Enough for a special May headline sum up. The biggest stories of the month, of course, were the Presidential Conference, Project Better Place's unveiling its electric car prototype and VMware's acquisition of B-hive Networks. Other exciting news that received less international coverage, but are also noteworthy, included the Israel Venture Association's Annual Hi-Tech Conference and that OpTier, a business service management software provider, is currently raising funds to make an acquisition. For these stories and the rest of the major headlines from May 2008 check out the 30 Israel-related technology headlines below:

Israel at 60
Israel Presidential Conference

Yahoo's Susan Decker: Content is king

Remarks by President Bush, President Peres of Israel and Prime Minister Olmert of Israel

Israel at 60: 10 historic quotes and 1 joke

Google co-founder lauds Israeli innovation in tech, environment


Cleantech
Project Better Place presents electric car prototype

Techwatch: Solel closes second major contract

N-trig and Its Supply Chain Go "Green" to Help Protect the Environment


Information Technology
Shunra Software Announces New Chief Technology Officer as Company Expands Application Performance and Analysis Portfolio

Voltaire and LSI to Cross-Certify InfiniBand Storage Products

Sicap and Red Bend Sign Agreement for Interoperable Device Management

Aternity Named as 2008 American Business Awards Finalist

XMPie Steps Up Web-Enabled Automation with Enhanced uStore


Information Security
Commtouch and Scalix Collaboration Brings Real Time Messaging Security to Linux-based E-mail Servers

Zones to Resell Applicure Web Application Firewall Technology

Check Point Pushes Virtualized Browser Protection

Info Security Products Guide Names Safend Winner of the 2008 Best Deployment Scenario Awards


Investments and M&A
Wanaka closes first fund at $50 million

Lightspeed Venture Partners Closes $800 Million Fund VIII

BTM co OpTier raising funds for acquisition

VMware to Acquire B-hive Networks to Further Enhance Virtualization Platform With Application Performance Management


Telecommunications
MobileMax in cellular-to-VoIP deal

modu in talks on handset launch

Israeli company aims to speed up the Internet


Miscellaneous
Israel Venture Association’s Annual Hi-Tech Conference 2008 Hits the Road

Touchwall: Microsoft's Inexpensive Wall-Based Multi-Touch Interface

High Tech Puts Israel in the Black

Israel's Garage Geeks Gather to Hear Google's Brin

Aniboom and I-play Partner to Create Animated Series Based on Popular Casual Games for Distribution Across Mobile, Online and Television Platforms

Copenda’s New Features Ease Communication Across Social Networking and Dating Sites



























(Picture of me at the 2008 Presidential Conference playing with a modu - one of the world's smallest cell phones. Thanks Oren for taking this! Get to know Oren and modu better by checking out the modu blog.)

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.

During the week of May 4, 2008, Israel turned 60 and a few technology companies announced that they will be featured "Enterprises of Tomorrow" during the Israeli Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow taking place on May 13 to May 15, 2008. The Conference has been organized by Israeli President Shimon Peres and, as the title implies, will focus on the future.

Twenty-seven dignitaries including President Bush and former Prime Minister of England, Tony Blair, will be on hand for the event, as will several tech luminaries, including Google Co-founder, Sergey Brin; and Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Yossi Vardi, perhaps Israel's greatest entrepreneur, is the Director of Science and Technology Track for the Conference and will lead one of the panels.

In anticipation for the Conference, which I will be attending on May 15th, this post as well as others to come this week will be in relation to the Conference, Israel's 60th and technology, and the 60 "Enterprises of Tomorrow." To get started, here are 10 headlines, mainly from the past week of May 4, 2008, that relate to some of Israel's "Enterprises of Tomorrow."

modu at the Presidential Conference

STMicroelectronics and Mobileye Deliver Second-Generation System-on-Chip for Vision-Based Driver Assistance Systems

AqWise Launches the Next Generation Remote N' Control(TM) Solution for Total Nitrogen Removal and Introduces Its AGAR® Process at IFAT 2008

Israel Cleantech Ventures closes $75m debut fund

Project Better Place debuts electric car

Comsys Selected as ‘Enterprise of Tomorrow’ to Feature at Israeli Presidential Conference

Updated fring version for iPhone (pre-release v. 0.9785)

Israel startup developing software system to identify terrorists

Camero Launches Handheld “Through-Wall Vision” Product

C-true Imaging - "Your Face is your key"


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.

This past week saw PLYmedia named Israel's most promising Internet start-up of 2008 by Microsoft, and HP unveil plans for startup incubation. The Internet was abuzz with Fring making unlocked iPhones now VoIP accessible and EyeBlaster's and Dapper's joining to do the mash... up. Oh yeah, and for those who missed my previous post, IBM continued its data storage solutions providers shopping spree, with its purchase of Diligent Technologies for an estimated $200 million. For a link to details on this latest acquisition and the rest of this past week's 24 Israel-related technology headlines, check out the list below.

Cleantech
3. Project Better Place

Water expo opens

Hollywood Premiere Of Award-Winning, New Documentary, "Water"


M&A and Investments
IBM buys Israel's Diligent

Venture Capitalists: U.S. Recession and Unstable Markets Will Slow Investing and Fundraising Activities, M&As and IPOs, KPMG Study Finds

Economy making venture capitalists cautious


Information Technology
TrusCont and CoakleyTech Announce the Launch of TrusCont Enhanced DVD-R Security Solution

Aternity Co-Founder & CTO Recognized as Leading Serial Entrepreneur by Distinguished Financial Journal

HP Israel unveils plans for startup incubation

World’s First Single-Chip, Multi-Message, Digital ChipCorder

Eyeblaster and Dapper Mash It Up Code Free


International
Microsoft names PLYmedia as Israel’s Most Promising Internet Startup of 2008

Israeli firms shine in Red Herring ratings

WorkLight selected AS A WINNER for the Red herring 100 Europe 2008

TruMedia's iCapture Wins Gold Medal at the Euro-Reklama Outdoor Expo


Telecom
Israel Wimax Pilot Moves to Next Stage

Motorola and FIRST Inspire Next Generation of Engineers

Israeli telecom firm Koor intends to buy stake in Tata Teleservice

iPhone gains VoIP with Fring


Miscellaneous
Interview with BluePhoenix Solutions' Chief Marketing Officer

Virtualization Start-Up to Present at Virtualization Conference & Expo in New York City

ClickSoftware to Automate Scheduling and Mobile Workforce Management for Rogers Cable Communications

Sentrigo Executes on all Fronts in 2007, Priming Database Security Leader for Continued Rapid Growth

BOS Announces Finalizing a Supply Agreement With a Major European Manufacturer in the Aircraft Industry Valued at Approximately $ 1.5 Million, for Supply Over 2 Years


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.

Israel Innovation 2.0's weekly Israel-related technology headlines are back by popular demand. What happened during the past week of March 30, 2008? There wasn't any news about any major investments and M&A (in Israel), but there sure was plenty of news about Israeli solar companies signing deals, Telecom announcing partnerships and Information Security... securing. This past week, it was revealed that sustainable energy stocks are lead by solar, Motorola unveiled a new Israeli-developed device and IncrediMail reported record revenues that increased 72% in 2007. To find out more about these stories and what the rest of this week's 21 Israel-related technology headlines are, check out the list below.


Cleantech
US Army fund seeks Israeli water tech

Solar Leads Sustainable Energy Stocks

Luz II signs deal with California energy giant

Solel to add solar facilities in Spain

'Green our lever to move Israel from 2nd to 1st World'


In Israel
Facebook, Google founders to attend Jerusalem conference in May

Economy added over 100,000 new jobs in 2007

Incubators in north and south excel


Telecom
Is you is or is you ain't WiMAX

Motorola unveils new Israeli developed device

Metalink Unveils Operating Expense Reduction Plan

InfoGin and Comverse in technology partnership

Motive and Red Bend Help Operators Overcome Barriers to Mobile and Converged Service Delivery


Information Security
Safend Provides New Data Leakage Prevention Offerings with Latest Release

Secure Enterprise 2.0 Forum Sets Course for the Future

Commtouch CEO to Present at America’s Growth Capital Information Security Conference at RSA


Miscellaneous
Elron Highlights AqWise and Galil Medical Developments

IncrediMail Reports Record Revenues, Increasing 72% in 2007

N-trig Hires New Vice President of Research, Development and Engineering

XFONE Completes Acquisition of Story Telecom, Inc.

Olive Software Announces Availability of ActiveMagazine 3.0, Next-Generation Digital Magazine

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, 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 company’s 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
Paul O'Callaghan, CEO of Jacada Ltd., will present at the B. Riley & Co. 9^th 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
Rim 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.

New Mobile Phone Technology from Secure Identity Systems Stops Card Fraud Cold
Israel-based Secure Identity Systems has announced that its new technology, mConfirm, "thwarts credit and debit card fraud, and potentially stops ID thieves in the act," by using "any mobile phone to match the location of a consumer and their payment card," analyzing it and acting on unusual results. IT professionals dealing with risk management should look into using mConfirm software as an additional preventative method against customer fraud. The service is also offered to individuals interested in taking preventative steps for their personal accounts.

XFONE, Inc, Successfully Closes Acquisition of NTS Communications
In a letter to company shareholders, XFONE, Inc., announced that it has successfully closed its acquisition of NTS Communications. XFONE, INC., which has operations in Israel,

Offers a wide range of services, including: local, long distance and international telephony services; prepaid and postpaid calling cards; cellular services; Internet services; messaging services (Email/Fax Broadcast, Email2Fax and Cyber-Number); and reselling opportunities.

New Connect One Solutions Internet-Enable Machine-to-Machine Connectivity for Legacy Devices

Connect One, a device networking solutions provider, has made available "two new affordable external devices servers for secure machine-to-machine (M2M) IP connectivity." The two devices, the Secure iLAN and Secure iWiFi, remove the need to have technicians work on-site to monitor devices. Instead, devices can be "remotely monitored and configured over IP networks in a completely secure manner from a home, office or on the road."


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.

A news release on PRNewswire has announced that Runcom Technologies Ltd. has jointly developed a VoIP portable telephone with Japanese companies NetIndex Inc. and Kaga Electronics Co., Ltd. using the company's WiMAX (IEEE802.16e) data communications module. The phone was first unveiled at the 2008 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

According to Runcom's website, the Israel-based company is a WiMAX chipset manufacturer that

"develops superior technological standards and products that target the emerging Beyond 3G market, enabling the delivery of enhanced communications services to cellular phones and other mobile devices."

While the company has focused on the Digital Interactive TV and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) markets in the past, its entrance into mobile Wireless MAN services will allow it to play a role in the cellular market which is the

"fastest growing segment in the communications arena, with over 400 million new phones being sold per annum."

Additionally, as the demand for mobile devices that deliver voice, video and data continues to increase and the technology changes, products and solutions, such as Runcom's OFDMA^®  technology will "make the importance of Beyond 3G markets in the future more apparent."

IT professionals should be on the lookout for more news on this and a possible partnership between NetIndex and Kaga Electronics to

"jointly develop a mobile broadband portable telephone for business enterprises, using next-generation communications technology."

Company Facts

Founded in 1997.

Dr. Zion Hadad, CEO and Founder.

Dr. Doron Ezri, CTO.

Products: System-On-Chip (SOC) and Base Station System-On-Board (SOB)

Website: www.runcom.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.

Israeli company Techtium is one of 88 Israeli companies present at the Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona this week. The company will be showing off its on-the-road rechargeable battery solutions for laptops and cellphones.

According to Techtium's website,

"Using its extensive expertise in both power IC development and battery chemistries, Techtium has developed an innovative, patent-protected technology that provides instant backupower anytime, anywhere."

BackuPower, its feature product,

"provides unusually simple and accessible solutions for instantly charging and significantly extending usage time of portable devices by using standard-sized AA or AAA batteries."

IT professionals should consider Techtium's BackuPower solutions for employees who rely on laptops and/or smart phones to get business done when traveling and can't afford to lose battery power at a critical moment.


Company Facts

Founded in 1995.

Dan Waysman, Chairman.

Guy Weinstein, President and Founder.

Dror Manor, VP R&D.

Products: BackuPower.

Website: www.techtium.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.

Globes is reporting that Israel-based Amdocs Ltd has deployed its Compact Convergence suite with Mobile Virtual Network Enabler, Effortel in Belgium. The news release announcing this states that the deployment is intended to "help one of the world's largest retailers offer mobile phone service in Belgium."

According to the Amdocs website, Amdocs is a

"leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and intentional customer experience(TM) at every point of service."

Its solutions integrate software, service and expertise, making it easier for customers to meet their goals. It is expected that Compact Convergence's network-connected complete service platform will give Effortel,

"the operational flexibility and agility needed to efficiently and cost-effectively create, deliver and manage new value-added services."

In general, the Compact Convergence suite can help mobile services expand into emerging markets in a manner that is cost-effective while meeting aggressive growth targets and launching services quickly. Cellcom Telecommunications also selected Amdocs Compact Convergence suite recently.


Company Facts

Founded in 1982.

Dov Baharav, President & CEO.

Bruce K. Anderson, Chairman

Eli Gelman, EVP, COO.

Website:  www.amdocs.com

Whether through modular cell phones or making cellphone calls from 30,000 feet up in the air on a plane, Israeli companies sure are busy finding new and improved ways for people to connect with each other on the go. Aerophone Ltd, an Israeli company best known for making military communication products, announced today that it has developed a "communication system, now ready for series production, with which mobile telephone calls can be made from aircraft – independent of GSM/CDMA ground stations."

Mobile phone calls in flight will cost about $1.60 a minute and will be payable to existing mobile carriers. While it isn't clear why the company has shifted its primary focus from being a military communication product manufacturer to being an aviation communication provider, the company's website emphasizes that its mission is

"to develop, manufacture, and market revolutionary, state of the art aviation cellular network systems operating on the fleet of aircraft."

The company's aim is

"to establish, for the first time, full cellular communication services (GSM and CDMA) in commercial airliners in the air."

As this could come to replace the current in-flight telephone systems, IT professionals should become familiar with what Aerophone's technology is and how it will impact co-workers making calls on business flights.


Company Facts:

Founded in mid- to late-1990s.

Henry Shabat, CEO and Founder.

Menachem Peery, President and CTO.

Website: www.aerophone.biz