TechWatch: Local micro-cap firms continue to outclass international competition

ECtel's revolutionary Integrated Revenue Management platform incorporates multifaceted solutions to address all revenue threats.

By MATTHEW KRIEGER
Tech Watch 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Tech Watch 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Earlier this month, the company that runs the Nasdaq Stock Market said it will reinstate a rule that requires publicly held shares to have a $1 minimum closing bid price and a certain minimum market value on August 3. The Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. suspended those rules in October, citing unprecedented turmoil in the market, and it moved to extend the suspension in December and March. Under the rules, a stock faces delisting if it fails to achieve a $1 closing bid price for 30 consecutive business days. It has at least six months to resolve the problem by having a closing bid price above $1 for 10 consecutive business days. Companies whose shares fall below certain minimum market values for 30 consecutive trading days are given three months to resolve the problem. This news strikes a delicate chord here in Israel as a number of local companies, including RadCom (RDCM), Metalink (MTLK), Top Image Systems (TISA), Better Online Solutions (BOSC), Mind CTI (MNDO) and ECtel (ECTX) are currently trading below the $1 red line. While share prices of these firms are currently low, most of these companies have seen a jump in their valuations over the last several weeks, and they all continue to announce new partnerships, customers and deals. This week's TechWatch takes a look at some of these recent announcements. Radcom Last week, Tel Aviv-based Radcom, a developer of innovative network test-and-service monitoring solutions for communications service providers and equipment vendors, announced that a leading telecommunications operator with a multinational Western European IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) deployment has selected RADCOM's Omni-Q solution to monitor their IMS services. The deal is valued at over $1 million for RADCOM. This tier-one incumbent operator, serving over a million IMS subscribers, has been using RADCOM's troubleshooting and monitoring solutions in several countries for many years. Throughout this period, RADCOM has demonstrated the ability to quickly respond and adapt to this operator's needs, both for decoding and reassembling vendor-specific implementations and for scaling RADCOM'S integrated troubleshooting and correlation engine capabilities to support millions of subscriber sessions and registration traffic. RADCOM's unique knowledge of IMS-specific requirements and understanding of the required work-flow enables this operator to leverage maximum benefit out of the monitoring system. In addition, the long-term successful business relationship with RADCOM was a key factor in deciding to deploy the Omni-Q solution to monitor the IMS services of their rapidly expanding customer base. This significant win in Western Europe is one more in a series of important IMS successes for RADCOM, following considerable investment in this segment. RADCOM has demonstrated repeatedly that the company is a leader in the market, offering capabilities not otherwise available. Better Online Solutions Meanwhile, Rishon Lezion-based B.O.S. Better Online Solutions, a leading provider of RFID (radio frequency identification tags) and Supply Chain solutions to global enterprises, recently announced that it has provided BOS - Waste management system, including over 1 million RFID tags, to Otto, a leading provider of integrated solutions for waste management in Europe and in the United States. Using BOS's RFID solution will enable Otto to manage and track waste collection, control waste-management subcontractors and offer better waste-removal services to the public. Otto offers the full range of waste-handling-related products and services, as well as residential carts, lifters, commercial containers, recycling bins and public-space containers. Otto is one of the first waste-management companies to understand the added value of using RFID to optimize the waste-collection process. BOS, through its subsidiary BOS supply chain solutions (ODEM), has designed a unique RFID tag for the Otto's bins, and is also supplying Otto with the appropriate RFID readers and antennas. All the hardware operates in a wide range of climates and weather conditions, and is also appropriate for liquid-waste materials. In addition to the RFID tags, BOS is also supplying software to track waste-collection routes. ECtel Finally, earlier this year, Rosh Ha'ayin-based ECtel, a leading provider of Integrated Revenue Management (IRM) solutions for communications service providers, announced that it has expanded its business operations in the UK and Singapore, upgrading its customer-interaction abilities and local support for its growing customer base in Europe and Asia Pacific. The expansion of the company's business operations in the UK supports ECtel's strategy to strengthen its presence in the region and operate closer to existing and potential clients. Singapore, one of the most developed business centers in Asia Pacific, will serve as a gateway to the region and position ECtel to meet the region's growing demand for the company's innovative IRM solutions. With a presence in over 50 countries, ECtel's world-leading revenue-assurance products provide operators with modular, scalable solutions to fight revenue leakage and fraud in order to ultimately increase the bottom line. ECtel's revolutionary Integrated Revenue Management (IRM) platform incorporates multifaceted solutions to address all revenue threats by providing operators with a 360-degree view of all revenues and costs, equipping them with proactive solutions for increased efficiency and operability. mattkrieger@gmail.com Matthew Krieger is an account supervisor at Ruder Finn Israel.