This is what Shlomo Gerdman, chairman of the Ra'anana conference for national high-tech policy, which was held about two weeks ago with the aim of putting on the national agenda the things that the government must do in order to allow the high-tech industry to continue to exist, to prevent a brain drain and to stop the ever-increasing spillover of investments in favor of India and China"
By Yehuda Conforts, The People
Shlomo Gerdman, the chairman of the conference, and who came up with the idea for its existence two years ago, says that "I was invited to the lecture by the chief scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Eli Ofer. While preparing for the lecture, I realized more than ever that we are in a reality where we apparently have a locomotive called high-tech, but if we don't come to our senses and the government doesn't design a national policy to help this industry - we will lose the few relative advantages we have."
Following this, Gordman began formulating the idea of holding a national conference on topics that concern the high-tech industry and that have immediate national implications. The idea was initially brought to Zev Bilski, the previous mayor of Ra'anana, who showed enthusiasm. Ra'anana was among the first cities, apart from the big cities, to establish a high-tech park on its territory. Today there are 85 high-tech companies in the city, and following Raanana, other cities in the central region are also encouraging the move of high-tech companies to their area.
Immediately after the new mayor of Ra'anana, Nahum Khofri, was elected, the idea began to gain momentum. Gerdman rallied the leaders of the industry to the task (he himself is the chairman of the high-tech managers' forum at MIL). With the assistance and funding of the municipality, it was decided to contact Prof. Uzi Arad from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, who has been organizing the "Herzliya Conference" for national policy on security and society for seven years.
Prof. Arad harnessed his team and the vast experience he had gained to the task, and thus they began to plan the first Ra'anana conference for national high-tech policy which will open, as mentioned, tomorrow. "The conference is by definition only a platform, a means of consolidating ideas and opinions. I hope that throughout the year we will continue the activity of thinking, the steering committees will prepare working papers and submit it to the relevant people in the government", says Gerdman.
The conference will revolve around three central themes that will be expressed through panels. One of the panels will deal with strategic planning for advanced technologies, and will be attended by Dr. Eli Ofer, Dr. Giora Yaron, Baruch Gindin, CEO of Gartner Israel, and others. This session will be moderated by Gordman himself.
Gordman says in a conversation leading up to the event that he is most disturbed by the spillover of investors towards India and China, mainly because of the huge disparity between the number of engineering and computer graduates in Israel compared to the East. "In India and China, tens of thousands of engineers graduate every year," says Gerdman, "even if we neutralize all the claims that not all of them are at the same level, that many of them are not really engineers, etc., and we arrive at a number of only 25 thousand, Israel is still in a problem, because we hardly manage to 8,000 engineers every year".
According to him, "We must look at reality with our eyes and not bury our heads in the sand. It is true that our industry today is successful and we have clear advantages, but if we do not maintain them it may disappear. As the role of the government comes in, it must invest in infrastructure, such as education and human capital, we cannot do that."
Regarding investments in Israel, the conference will call on the government not to be complacent. Today the amount of investments by venture capital funds reaches 1.1 billion dollars, while in China it reaches 2.2 billion dollars. "Investors choose China because there they receive encouragement, there is a national policy to push investments, which does not exist here," says Gerdman.
According to him, "If you look at the funding sources of the funds investing in Israel, it seems that more than half of the sources are from funds abroad - in the United States and Europe. This is a dangerous situation because the entire Israeli hi-tech industry depends on foreign factors. If something happens tomorrow morning, God forbid, or if the influx to the east increases, they will stop investing here, and then we will be left with nothing."
The solution, according to Gerdman, is a change in legislation and the formulation of a new concept by the regulators that will allow pension funds, economic entities, banks and insurance companies to invest in Israeli funds. "If all the retirees of the firemen's union in the United States put their money on Israeli hi-tech companies, why don't large organizations in Israel and pension funds do the same? They don't believe in this industry?".
In preparation for the conference, an extensive steering committee formed by Gerdman worked for almost six months, which prepared three main discussion tracks: education and technology, with the participation of the Minister of Education Yuli Tamir; Analysis of financial resources, led by Dr. Orna Berry, and with a guest lecture by the Minister of Communications, Ariel Atias; and a track on the future of the technological industries, led by Professor Emanuel Trachtenberg, and with a guest lecture by the head of the Research Division, Major General Ami Shafaran.
In conclusion, Gerdman says that "the main goal is the establishment of a national council that will sit next to the government and advise it where to invest and in what."
Don't help us - help yourselves
The distinguished speakers at the Ra'anana conference yesterday had a uniform message: "We did not come here to ask for help for ourselves. we are arranged But if the government does not intervene where it needs to, encourage the appropriate industries, invest much more in education and train personnel - in a decade we will be able to tell our children and grandchildren that there used to be a beautiful industry here, which they called high-tech. But because the decision-makers fell asleep in the guard, it does not exist here, but only overseas"
The Israeli economy consists of a number of sectors and industries. Almost every industry has a lobby, a lobby, that knows how to protect its interests in the corridors of government, in the Knesset and wherever decisions are made. Sometimes there is no proportion between the size of the lobby and the noise it makes - and the sector itself. For the most part, the role of the lobbyists is to raise funds for sectors that house failed industries - public or private. This is the way of the world.
The Israeli hi-tech industry, since its foundation, is a kind of unusual bird in the nice jungle in which we live. It is defined as an industry that has the highest return on investment in the Israeli economy, in terms of export dollars and the revenues derived from it. It is considered an industry that employs the elites of Israeli human capital. As such, she has to occasionally apologize for being that way, since many see her as responsible for all the other problems of Israeli society, including poverty and social disparity.
It is an exception, because it is one of the few industries that does not have a real lobby in the Knesset and the government - apart from the official institutions, which represent the industrialists, software people and the like. This is an industry that employs about 250,000 people in the State of Israel, which supports hundreds of thousands of others. Still, in 2007 this is an industry that needs to protect itself. Usually, its CEOs appear in the salary tables of the economics sections, when they have a salary, or when they make a successful exit, which enriches not only them, but several hundred other families in Israel. Alternatively, they are published when, God forbid, they are forced to close the venture in which they invested the best of their money.
Can't keep quiet anymore
But there is something else that distinguishes this industry from other industries. Its managers and leaders know how to anticipate future processes: they see what is happening in the world, understand where the trends are leading. Their conscience and responsibility do not allow them to sit still. In the end, they are first and foremost citizens of the State of Israel - even if they spend half of the week on airplanes. They have families and children here. They are usually among the senior age group in any average high-tech company. The rest of the employees are their children's age, more or less. They see the excellence that comes from each of their employees, the spark in their eyes - that little engine that burns in their buttocks, and which brings them to the most beautiful achievements in the world. But they see the clouds outside the now shining sun - they see, and they can't keep quiet anymore.
This situation is considered one of the reasons that brought about 400 of the heads of this industry - its managers, officials and businessmen - to participate yesterday (Tuesday) in the first Ra'anana conference for national hi-tech policy. The conference was held in Ra'anana - and not by chance. This is the city that a decade ago was a pioneer in allocating real estate to leading international hi-tech companies. This is the city that managed to improve the quality of life of its residents, and raised their standard of living as a result. In its wake, almost all the peripheral cities followed. The hi-tech industry is a clean industry, it brings income, and every city boasts of it.
But that's not the only reason. One of the prominent representatives of this industry, Shlomo Gerdman - entrepreneur, manager of start-up companies and active in various institutions - was invited two years ago to a lecture by the chief scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer. Oper gave him exactly seven minutes to explain what needs to be done to improve the high-tech industry. These seven minutes gave birth to the idea for the conference held yesterday. It is no coincidence that the first speaker at the conference hosted by Gordman was the same Dr. Oper. He also got seven minutes, but of course he spoke a little more...
Yehuda Conforts, ThePeople system, DailyMaily
The Israeli economy consists of a number of sectors and industries. Almost every industry has a lobby, a lobby, that knows how to protect its interests in the corridors of government, in the Knesset and wherever decisions are made. Sometimes there is no proportion between the size of the lobby and the noise it makes - and the sector itself. For the most part, the role of the lobbyists is to raise funds for sectors that house failed industries - public or private. This is the way of the world.
The Israeli hi-tech industry, since its foundation, is a kind of unusual bird in the nice jungle in which we live. It is defined as an industry that has the highest return on investment in the Israeli economy, in terms of export dollars and the revenues derived from it. It is considered an industry that employs the elites of Israeli human capital. As such, she has to occasionally apologize for being that way, since many see her as responsible for all the other problems of Israeli society, including poverty and social disparity.
It is an exception, because it is one of the few industries that does not have a real lobby in the Knesset and the government - apart from the official institutions, which represent the industrialists, software people and the like. This is an industry that employs about 250,000 people in the State of Israel, which supports hundreds of thousands of others. Still, in 2007 this is an industry that needs to protect itself. Usually, its CEOs appear in the salary tables of the economics sections, when they have a salary, or when they make a successful exit, which enriches not only them, but several hundred other families in Israel. Alternatively, they are published when, God forbid, they are forced to close the venture in which they invested the best of their money.
Can't keep quiet anymoreBut there is something else that distinguishes this industry from other industries. Its managers and leaders know how to anticipate future processes: they see what is happening in the world, understand where the trends are leading. Their conscience and responsibility do not allow them to sit still. In the end, they are first and foremost citizens of the State of Israel - even if they spend half of the week on airplanes. They have families and children here. They are usually among the senior age group in any average high-tech company. The rest of the employees are their children's age, more or less. They see the excellence that comes from each of their employees, the spark in their eyes - that little engine that burns in their buttocks, and which brings them to the most beautiful achievements in the world. But they see the clouds outside the now shining sun - they see, and they can't keep quiet anymore.
This situation is considered one of the reasons that brought about 400 of the heads of this industry - its managers, officials and businessmen - to participate yesterday (Tuesday) in the first Ra'anana conference for national hi-tech policy. The conference was held in Ra'anana - and not by chance. This is the city that a decade ago was a pioneer in allocating real estate to leading international hi-tech companies. This is the city that managed to improve the quality of life of its residents, and raised their standard of living as a result. In its wake, almost all the peripheral cities followed. The hi-tech industry is a clean industry, it brings income, and every city boasts of it.
But that's not the only reason. One of the most prominent representatives of this industry, Shlomo Gerdman - entrepreneur, manager of start-up companies and active in various institutions - was invited two years ago to a lecture by the chief scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer. Oper gave him exactly seven minutes to explain what needs to be done to improve the high-tech industry. These seven minutes gave birth to the idea for the conference held yesterday. It is no coincidence that the first speaker at the conference hosted by Gordman was the same Dr. Oper. He also got seven minutes, but of course spoke a little more.
The abyss is approachingThe conference yesterday established a new format: a technological twin brother to the Herzliya conference - which was born on the knees of the successful formats of the Jerusalem Business Conference and the old Caesarea conference. These are conferences that are a platform for thinking, for committees where experts sit - and they make recommendations to the decision makers. In the case of hi-tech, this is not the first conference to discuss the problems of the industry. But the reason this conference received so much attention is the common feeling of most of the participants, according to which we are approaching the mouth of the abyss. But as a gap between the situation today and the expected fall and crash.
One has to be very brave, in order to stand on a stage, and provide dark predictions about the future of the Israeli hi-tech industry. The speakers were united in their prediction - if the government does not come to its senses and start planning an orderly policy, then the gloomy predictions will come true. All the speakers presented a grim reality, according to which all the investments that were made and are being made to this day - were not the result of planning, but the result of one-off decisions.
The purpose of the conference is to make the government think and set priorities. There was agreement on two key insights at the conference: there is no lack of budgets, they are scattered in various places related to hi-tech, but apparently they are invested in the wrong places.
Wake up - and immediately!The second, and important, insight - in the opinion of the writer of these lines, relates to the title of the article: "Don't help us - help yourselves". All the heads of industry - some of them whose names go before them, said in different words a uniform message: we did not come here to ask for help for ourselves. we are arranged Our businesses are successful, and we don't need government intervention. But if the government does not intervene where it needs to, encourage the appropriate industries, invest much more in education, train personnel to go and study five units of computers, mathematics and science in high school, if it does not do this - there is a reasonable chance that in a decade we will be able to tell our children and grandchildren that there used to be Here is a beautiful industry, called hi-tech. But because the decision-makers fell asleep in the guard, it does not exist here, but only overseas.
This is not whining. This is not nagging for its own sake and it is not exhortation, to wring tears from someone. This is a certain reality. If those who need to wake up do not wake up in time, high-tech will no longer be the oranges of the State of Israel from the XNUMXs. He won't even be the engine that drives the economy. It will be another archaeological exhibit in the museum. It is worth reading, listening and internalizing the messages conveyed by the conference organizers. It is not meant for them - it is for all the people of Israel. And the sooner the better.
The chief scientist at TMT, Dr. Eli Ofer, at the Ra'anana conference for national high-tech policy:
"The lack of support for hi-tech means a real danger to the future of the entire industry"
At the first Ra'anana conference for national high-tech policy, held yesterday (Tuesday) in Ra'anana, Dr. Ofer said that "there are budgets to encourage industry in Israel, but they need to be directed to the right places" ● All the speakers presented a gloomy forecast for the future of R&D and hi- Tech in Israel, and expressed concern about their continued existence in a decade ● Baruch Gindin, Gartner: The right investment directions are nanotechnology, energy, environmental quality, biotechnology and medicine
Dr. Eli Ofer, the chief scientist at TMT
"The lack of support for local hi-tech and the provision of budgets for them - are a real danger to the future of Israeli hi-tech. The absence of this support will lead to education for mediocrity - and not for the required excellence," said the chief scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Eli Ofer, at the first Ra'anana conference on national high-tech policy, held yesterday (Tuesday). Dr. Ofer warned of a danger that hangs over the local hi-tech industry as a result of not granting budgets to the industry. This gloomy forecast regarding the future of the hi-tech industry was one of the threatening predictions that were heard yesterday at the conference, from the heads of industry, professors, decision makers and industry people. The conference was held with the funding of Ra'anana Municipality, in cooperation with the heads of the industry and the institutions that represent it. The conference was also attended by senior representatives of the government, including the Minister of Education, Prof. Yuli Tamir; Minister of Communications, Ariel Atias; MK Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Shimon Peres.
According to Dr. Ofer, "Science, research and development - are the crucial cornerstones in the life of the State of Israel. In addition to granting a budget to large and established companies, it is mandatory to support companies at the beginning of their journey as well as the academy". He added, "It is not true that there is no budget that can be dedicated to the issue for the State of Israel. on the contrary. There is a budget, and the only question is where to direct it. Do you give the money to those who need it, or to those who don't need it? The fate of the State of Israel depends very much on the issues of science, technology and R&D. A cornerstone of innovation in any progressive nation is technological progress."
The chief scientist summed up his gloomy forecast and said that "the only thing that needs to be taken care of, first and foremost - is excellence".
The purpose of the conference, as outlined by the chairman of the conference and its initiator, Shlomo Gerdman, is to "encourage the government and call on it to plan a national policy - in everything related to high-tech investments, and to submit expert recommendations to it on where the budgets should be directed. This, in addition to the significant increase required in investments in education and infrastructure." The conference included four main panels, which dealt with strategic planning for advanced technologies, challenges regarding education, channeling financial resources to finance the high-tech industry and a panel on the future of sophisticated industries.
According to Gerdman, "the purpose of this conference is to raise difficult questions about the future of the industry, precisely because of the reality that exists today of an apparent boom, and against the background of the growing Indian and Chinese threat, as well as against the background of the development of globalization"...
Dr. Eli Ofer, the chief scientist at TMT: "The lack of support for local hi-tech and the granting of budgets for them - are a real danger to the future of Israeli hi-tech
"The lack of support for local hi-tech and the provision of budgets for them - are a real danger to the future of Israeli hi-tech. The absence of this support will lead to education for mediocrity - and not for the required excellence," said the chief scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Eli Ofer, at the first Ra'anana conference on national high-tech policy, held yesterday (Tuesday). Dr. Ofer warned of a danger that hangs over the local hi-tech industry as a result of not granting budgets to the industry. This gloomy forecast regarding the future of the hi-tech industry was one of the threatening predictions that were heard yesterday at the conference, from the heads of industry, professors, decision makers and industry people. The conference was held with the funding of Ra'anana Municipality, in cooperation with the heads of the industry and the institutions that represent it. The conference was also attended by senior representatives of the government, including the Minister of Education, Prof. Yuli Tamir; Minister of Communications, Ariel Atias; MK Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Shimon Peres.
According to Dr. Ofer, "Science, research and development - are the crucial cornerstones in the life of the State of Israel. In addition to granting a budget to large and established companies, it is mandatory to support companies at the beginning of their journey as well as the academy". He added, "It is not true that there is no budget that can be dedicated to the issue for the State of Israel. on the contrary. There is a budget, and the only question is where to direct it. Do you give the money to those who need it, or to those who don't need it? The fate of the State of Israel depends very much on the issues of science, technology and R&D. A cornerstone of innovation in any progressive nation is technological progress."
The chief scientist summed up his gloomy forecast and said that "the only thing that needs to be taken care of, first and foremost - is excellence".
The purpose of the conference, as outlined by the chairman of the conference and its initiator, Shlomo Gerdman, is to "encourage the government and call on it to plan a national policy - in everything related to high-tech investments, and to submit expert recommendations to it on where the budgets should be directed. This, in addition to the significant increase required in investments in education and infrastructure." The conference included four main panels, which dealt with strategic planning for advanced technologies, challenges regarding education, channeling financial resources to finance the high-tech industry and a panel on the future of sophisticated industries.
According to Gerdman, "the purpose of this conference is to raise difficult questions about the future of the industry, precisely because of the reality that exists today of an apparent boom, and against the background of the growing Indian and Chinese threat, as well as against the background of the development of globalization."
The mayor of Ra'anana, Nahum Khofri, said that the city of Ra'anana is proud to be the home of the high-tech industry, "which holds this important conference, which is designed to help promote the industry at the national level and encourage its continued growth. We are proud that a large number of large companies, as well as small ones, have decided to settle in Ra'anana, and many CEOs also live in this city. We very much hope that the Ra'anana conference will be the technological answer to the Herzliya conference and will help the decision makers to plan a national policy."
to change the directions of government investmentsBaruch Gindin, the CEO of Gartner, said that "in the absence of a national policy for investments in the elite industry - the distribution of resources carried out by the chief scientist is, in a sense, a 'right sign' for private investments in these industries." According to him, in 2006 the industry's share of investments coming from the chief scientist decreased by about 5%. Gindin presented data, according to which since the year 2000, the direction of government investments in the various hi-tech industries in Israel has not changed, contrary to the global trend. "ICT is still dominant," he said, "which includes the various software and communication industries. The representation of fields, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, internet, and energy - is still relatively small." Gindin said that according to Gartner's estimates, the government and industry should direct budgets and resources to the following areas: nanotechnology, biotechnology and medicine, energy and "green" enterprises, clean technology.
Professor Aryeh Orenstein, director of the Advanced Technologies Unit at Sheba Hospital, explained why he thinks the state should invest in the entire subject of biotechnology and medicine today: "40% of PhD graduates in Israeli academia come from the direction of medicine, chemistry and life sciences," said Orenstein, "our scientists They received world awards based on these skills." He quoted the words of MK Zebulon Orlev, chairman of the Science and Technology Committee in the Knesset, who warned against the brain drain phenomenon of the best scientists in Israel, "that with one click of the mouse, they are able to receive tempting job offers abroad. The government's mission is to prevent these brains from escaping - and that is absolutely possible."
In his words, Orenstein emphasized the striking trend, that only 23% of all the companies that deal with bio-technology and medical developments - manage to achieve the realization of projects and bring money to their companies. The main reason, according to Prof. Orenstein, is the lack of education for proper management of high-tech companies, he ended his speech by calling on the government and the Ministry of Education to invest in this area.
Learn from the TaiwaneseGiora Yaron, founder and chairman of Accent, opened his words to the government: "This conference is not intended to help us. No need to help us, thank God. The question is how to help the economy. Don't need more money. So it is true that we are a free country, and there is academic freedom, and I know that very well, but there are points in life, that a government has to intervene in a positive way just to survive. no more". He brought several examples, from countries in the Far East, that knew how to invest in the right directions, as a result of a national policy they decided on - "and because of that - they got where they got to". According to him, "even the United States, the capital of the free economy and freedom of occupation - encourages certain industries today. Anyone who just says Clean Tech, or energy - they immediately open their wallets and write them a check." He noted that "there were already precedents in the past, that the government helped the high-tech industry. The venture capital fund industry would not have existed if the government had given the initial push."
In his opinion, the directions in which the government can direct the industry are: medical, pharma, the entire subject of communication, including the Internet, with an emphasis on online content. Another aspect pointed out by Yaron is a change in legislation that will allow the transfer of royalties to the academy and the government - from the vast knowledge accumulated in universities, "knowledge that is considered priceless all over the world, and only here it is still not well utilized."
Nice - on the brink of a billionHaim Shani, CEO of Nice Systems, said that this year the company will reach half a billion dollars in sales, and within a few years it intends to reach a billion dollars. According to Shani, NICE employs 1,800 people, 500 of whom are engineers, "We are an Israeli company, and always remain so. All our messages say: 'Ra'anana, Israel', and I hope that in the future we will no longer have to explain where Ra'anana is."
"We deal in multimedia and try to help organizations improve their protection and service," Shani pointed out, "75% of service centers and transaction rooms - use his equipment. We have 24,000 customers - some of them from the military and the police."
Referring to the recommendations for the government's policy in the field of hi-tech, Shani said that "it is very important that the government invests resources in education for proper management and, of course, in human capital. We train a lot of people, but we can't do it instead of the government."
Later in the conference, discussions were held on the topic of financing and investments, and a panel was held on the future of the technological industry, with the participation of the head of the IDF's research department, Major General Ami Shafran; CEO of Eldin, Yankee Margalit; Yehuda Zisafel, from Baali Red Binat; and Dr. Yaakov Sheinin, CEO of "Economic Models". At noon, MK Netanyahu, chairman of the opposition and former prime minister, appeared. At the end of the conference, a celebratory reception was held for the deputy prime minister and president-elect, Shimon Peres, with the participation of about 800 guests.
