Techwatch takes a look at what some of Israel's NASDAQ-traded companies have accomplished over the last few weeks.
By MATTHEW KRIEGERTech Watch 88(photo credit: Courtesy)
With rumors swirling about Teva's impending purchase of Barr Pharmaceuticals, TechWatch, while it has traditionally focused on the activities of some of the country's smaller companies, takes a look at what some of Israel's other NASDAQ-traded companies have accomplished over the last few weeks.
NICE Systems, headquartered in Ra'anana, the global provider of advanced solutions that enable organizations to extract Insight from Interactions to drive performance, announced last week that Salt River Project (SRP) the third-largest public power utility in the United States, has selected NICE SmartCenter solutions to help SRP manage and support the growth of its contact centers, which receive more than 3 million calls per year.
The NICE SmartCenter solutions will enable SRP to recognize economies of scale and reduce integration issues by working with one solutions provider for Quality Management (QM) interaction analytics and workforce management. The NICE solutions will be replacing competing systems in SRP's VoIP contact centers.
SRP has recently opened a new contact center to address the needs of its nearly 1 million water and power customers.
Petah Tikva-based Aladdin Knowledge Systems, an information security leader specializing in authentication, software DRM and content security, announced last week a partnership with IdenTrust, which possesses the only global bank-centric identity network, to provide identity authentication solutions for secure on-line banking and financial transactions.
Aladdin and IdenTrust are collaborating to offer certificate-based, two-factor authentication for unmatched security, enabling financial organizations in the US, Europe and Asia to implement next-generation technology to improve the security of e-commerce, fight identity theft, increase customer trust and drive revenue.
Elbit Systems Ltd., headquartered in Haifa, announced earlier this month that it was awarded a contract valued at approximately $20 million to supply Hermes® 450 UAV Systems to a European country. The systems include both air vehicles as well as complementing ground systems, to be delivered during 2009.
Hermes® 450 is a unique Elbit Systems development, which has been the major player in Israel's security activities, and the IDF's primary UAV system. In addition, the Hermes® 450 is the basis for the UK Armed Forces' Watchkeeper program, the largest UAV program in Europe. Hermes® 450 UAVs are used extensively in armies worldwide, including active war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. So far, the Hermes® 450 has accumulated over 100,000 operational flight hours.
Magal Security Systems Ltd. announced last month that it has signed contracts for the installation of municipal command and control systems in several Israeli cities, including Netanya and Bat Yam, based on its FORTIS system that was modified for this purpose. In addition, Magal received another order for installation of a Fortis system that will be used to protect water reservoirs in Ramat Gan. The total amount of these orders is approximately $ 1.5m., to be completed by the end of 2008.
The modified FORTIS system will integrate command and control of the entire security infrastructure of the cities, protecting the citizens, their public areas, parks, educational and industrial facilities, and water reservoirs from acts of vandalism, burglary and sabotage, while at the same time, increasing the sense of security of the residents in those communities. Using advanced technology, including dozens of smart cameras, the modified FORTIS system provides the control-centers of these municipalities with a unique graphical command tool, which updates the location and live video feed of the areas under alert, while enabling operators to quickly dispatch and monitor security personnel with real-time updates, thus optimizing the operational response.
Magal Security Systems Ltd., headquartered in Yahud, is engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of computerized security systems, which automatically detect, locate and identify the nature of unauthorized intrusions. The Company's products are currently used in more than 70 countries worldwide to protect national borders, airports, correctional facilities, nuclear power stations and other sensitive facilities from terrorism, theft and other threats.
Ra'anana-based Retalix Ltd. announced late last month that it has joined forces with British Telecom to launch a range of products and services that will meet the entire in-store technology requirements of food and convenience retailers in the UK.
The cooperation agreement, announced at Retail Solutions 2008, brings together Retalix's industry-established store technology platform with BT's team of retail experts, who have a track record of delivering successful store infrastructure implementations across a variety of retail store types. Combined with its capabilities in communications and networked IT, BT will be able to offer a new end-to-end grocery solution to the UK marketplace.
The Retalix grocery store solution is a tightly integrated suite of electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) and back-office software applications, comprising fuel, loyalty, self-checkout, wireless mobile solutions, in-store kiosks and more. It suits the largest hypermarkets to the smallest convenience store, with or without fuel, and is currently deployed across over 3,800 stores and 50,000 point-of-sale terminals across the UK. Retalix EPOS software is the solution of choice for top retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and BP.
mattkrieger@gmail.com
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