Friday, May 18, 2007

Electronics Industry in Israel

Propelled by military compulsions, the Israeli electronics industry has emerged as the world’s second Silicon Valley. It has made its mark on the global level with the ability to incorporate varied industries and components in interdisciplinary areas.

Concerted innovations and cease-less endeavour in the field of electronics have transformed Israel into the world’s second Silicon Valley. The application of local engineers and scientists in devising leading-edge technologies and products is largely responsible for the changed face of electronics in Israel today. Coupled with the entrepreneurship of its managers, electronics has become the country’s most rapidly-growing industry. Also, Israel’s universities are acting as a catalyst by providing quality education in the field of electronics. Undoubtedly, the peace process and free-trade agreements with the US, Canada, EU and EFTA are the other factors that have contributed to its high growth. Electronics in Israel is a high value-addition sector. The average value-addition is 68 per cent in this sector as compared to 42 per cent in the rest of the Israeli industry. There are 43,400 people employed in this industry, including 24,800 engineers of whom 14,000 are university graduates. Twelve per cent of the employees are involved in R&D activities. The output per employee has grown consistently and stands at over $164,000 per employee for 1997-98 as against $63,380 in 1987. Positive trends in the telecommunications sector—specifically in communication networks and semiconductors—are to a large extent responsible for the dramatic rise in output levels. The dynamic growth in Israel’s electronics industry can be linked to the country’s strategic need for defence and electronic warfare systems. However, in recent decades there has been a shift from the military to the civilian sector and technology has been adapted for commercial applications.
Electronics Everywhere

The electronics sector in Israel excels at the ability of incorporating varied industries and components in interdisciplinary areas. Textile, printing, agriculture and medicine are a few of the industries that now have electronics at their core. In the field of communications, R&D-based applications include digital processing, transmission and enhancement of images, speech and data. The products range from advanced telephone exchanges to voice systems and telephone-line doublers. Israel is today a world leader in fibre optics, electro-optic inspection systems for printed circuit boards, thermal imaging, night-vision systems and electro-optic-based robotic manufacturing systems. The country has the world’s largest concentration of researchers and skilled manpower in electro-optics and lasers. A high level of specialisation has been achieved in the areas of electro-optic testing, measurement and imaging systems, laser materials processing, electro-optical component manufacturing and medical systems. Among the important companies in the field are Indigo, Scitex, Orbotech, ELOP, Lanoptics, Elbit and Laser Industries. Education in schools is enhanced by a variety of computer-aided instruction systems. Israeli-made computer-based imaging systems are also widely exported. While some of Israel’s software products are designed for use on mainframe computers, most have been developed for small- or medium-sized workstations.
Software Design

Israel has also emerged as a major software design centre. It is significant to note that the Israeli and Indian software industry started off at the same time, but the market value of Israel’s software listed on NASDAQ is $50 billion today. Further, one may add to this a conservative $10 billion in companies that are listed in the country or valued in private acquisitions. Software R&D centres in Israel include setups of multinationals such as Microsoft, IBM and Digital to name a few. Scores of Israeli companies are operating in the US market through joint ventures, OEM and marketing agreements.
Telecommunications

Telecommunications and datacommu-nications are the salient strengths of Israel’s electronics industry. This includes PABXs and access networks, satellite terminals, wireless LANs, ISDN terminals, ATM, LANB switches and SDHI (SONET), sophisticated antennas, voice and handwriting recognition systems, frequency hopping paging systems, USAT, video encryption and compression, vocoders, HDSL (2mbps), ADSL (6mbps), VHDSL (100mbps), small satellites and Leo launchers, CATV communications, etc. Telecommunications account for over 30 per cent of the total electronics industry in the country. The leading Israeli names in telecommunications are Elbit Computers, Rad Data Communications, ECI Telecom and Bezeq. Many top-notch companies are known to be seeking joint ventures in India. Bezeq is already in India as a service provider. Rad is being represented in India through the Bangalore-based MRO-Tech. India’s potential growth in telecom is a competitive area where Israeli companies can provide service and technology. Israel’s industry was hard pressed in the 60s to develop its own technology-base for the upkeep of its military machinery. But later, when there was lesser accent on military activities, large companies, which had serviced the needs of the defence, had to look for other markets. And in the 80s, these companies began to make an impact on the civilian sector. A host of start-ups tasted commercial success, marking a wave of high-tech debuts that eventually culminated in today’s vibrant export-driven telecommunications industry. Tadiran is a classic example of a company’s transition from military to civilian applications. It offers a unique wireless telephone system that is based on spread spectrum and the frequency-hopping technology in which the frequency changes at random at about 500 jumps a second. Tadiran had developed this technology for military purposes but today it is used in cabs and ambulances. The Electronics Group (TEG) is a world leader in defence electronics and aerospace applications, providing a full range of products, systems and services from concept-evaluation through programme deployment and ongoing integrated logistical support. TEG’s products include complete lines of missiles, radars, weapons and ammunition-control systems. TEG also produces point defence systems, optronic sensors and navigation systems. Israel is also a fairly large player in IT—the Internet I in particular. Multilingual Internet communication, voice and video communications over the Internet, wireless Internet access and communications, network management software, encryption technology, imaging and pattern recognition systems, fault-detection and analysis software are on offer by Israeli companies. Leading companies in IT and Internet are VocalTec, NetManage, Aladdin Knowledge Systems, Accent/Kivun, VdOnet, Ubique and Disc. Internet security products are their primary wares. Checkpoint provides Firewall, an Internet security product, which prevents a breach by creating a ‘wall’ between a trusted network and the Internet, restricting sites that employees can visit. Companies are also offering safe remote access software transfer. The Israeli electronics industry has also distinguished itself through innovations in multimedia. Over 70 firms are engaged in CD-ROM software development of which 90 per cent is exported. Prominent companies in this area are JeMM, Pixel, Edusoft, Edunetics, Onyx, Interactive, Levitech, Plastronics, Glymph, Multimedia, Makhshevet and Optibase.

Technology Tie-ups and JVs
In 1993, the Israel Export Institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Indian consultancy firm, Technova India, for the promotion of Israeli electronics technology in India. Under the terms of the MoU, Technova chose to confine itself to identifying and aiding collaborations and transfer of technology in the civil area. It was around the same time that Electronics Industries (ELOP), the Israeli market leader in thermal imaging and other esoteric areas, opened an office in India. ELOP made an unpublicised entry into India through a technology tie-up with an NRI-promoted company in the Noida Export Processing Zone. ELOP’s technology offered the capability of linking a computer-controlled vision system to a fruit- or vegetable-processing line to automatically sort and grade fruits or vegetables by size, colour and quality. That year also saw a number of Indo-Israel joint ventures in floriculture and drip-irrigation industries. However, the drift is now more in the high-tech direction of telecommunications and electronic machinery, medical equipment, education software and digital printing technology. These products constituted over 15 per cent of Israel’s exports in 1998 and an increase of 45 per cent over similar exports in 1997. A number of joint ventures are now being set up in areas like manufacture of high-speed modems, voice-mail systems and fibre optics. Even the regional and development centres for such ventures are being set up in India. It is significant to note that even low-profile companies like Gilat Satellite Networks are determined to tap India’s potential in communications through VSATs. Gilat is in the process of setting up a liaison office in Delhi and Magic Software is all set to cash in on the Indian ‘ERP solutions’ market. Alladin Knowledge Systems caters mainly for the software-security-against-piracy requirements in the market. Even giants like ELBI Systems are vying for this segment. A small but significant beginning was made at building tie-ups between the Israeli and Indian electronics industry in 1993. This association has now penetrated numerous areas that promise high growth in volume and value.

Government Assistance
Israel has an incubator programme, which has been a key factor in promoting inventors and innovators. This programme was initiated in 1992 to absorb emigrant scientists. Any Israeli national can apply for assistance on the basis of a promising proposal and the assurance of completion of the prototype within two years. Another such setup is run by Wiezmann Institute, which receives an annual budget from the Israeli government. The budget allocation in 1998 was $160 million. The institute encourages research even on technology that may not have immediate practical applications. It also offers a programme for commercial inventions that it operates through a separate company, Yeda. Under Yeda, researchers need not develop a prototype compulsorily as is mandatory in the incubator programme.

http://www.electronicsforu.com/electronicsforu/Articles/ad.asp?url=/efylinux/efyhome/cover/articles-sep/israel.htm&title=Electronics%20Industry%20in%20Israel

Electronics information at your fingertips

The Internet phenomenon may be putting the electronics industry in the evolutionary fast lane, but OEM purchasers and supply-chain managers still have their hazard lights on as they approach the highway's on-ramp.

Given the number of new sourcing sites cropping up almost overnight, purchasers are quickly learning how to shift their long-standing ways of finding, buying, and negotiating parts. And while cautious about whom they turn to in this brave new world, they are stopping to ask directions. Despite the strong projected growth, the plethora of online companies playing in the e-procurement space has commodity and supply-chain managers wary. A consensus among the participants appeared to be that, while many of the online organizations facilitate transactions and communications between parties, buyers found it difficult to pore through all of the sites without complicating the supply-chain process. Rather, they were seeking a one-stop shop where they could aggregate data, source suppliers, quote prices, and negotiate deals. The Internet companies at the session offer a variety of services, including excess-parts availability, online sourcing, and access to databases. Here are a few specialised electronics websites covering various aspects of the electronics world.
Electronics tutorials

www.basicelectronics.com allows you to browse the subject of ELECTRONICS. If you are just starting the journey of learning electronics, you can make use of the simple nature and graphical content of this site. Feel free to look around. This covers basic electronics concepts, theories and principles. A 'must visit' site for students of physics and electronics.
Electronics articles

Searching for electronics articles and stuff like that? www.electronics.about.com/industry/electronics/library/bl_articlesoffsite.htm gives you an assortment of useful articles from various electronics magazines. It has got a wide range of latest technology articles from digital/analogue signals to micro controllers to test and measurement instruments.
Troubleshooting of home appliances (www.repairfaq.org/sam/ )

This page gives you tips by Samuel M. Goldwasser on repair of consumer electronics from SMPS to Television with schematics and diagrams. This page also gives you links to various 'frequently asked questions' sections.

Good homemade PCBs
If you are looking for a site where you would really want to get an insight into the making of good as well as high-quality home made PCBs, then the following site may fulfil your requirements: www.netcomuk.co.uk/~wwl/pcbs.html

Electronics news
To know the latest news in the electronics industry throughout the world, www.ebnonline.com is a good site for your reference. This site provides you with the most relevant industry specific information available on the Web. It is a tool that allows you to focus your search to selected categories of Web sites. EBN has daily news digest, industry news etc. It also features certain special sections such as Electronics distribution directory, Electronics manufacturing services Directory, Top 50 distributors, Top component suppliers etc.
Electronic circuits
For an electronics enthusiast and those who are interested in making circuits of their own, www.electronicsforu.com is the perfect solution. It is a very attractive site having more than 150 downloadable circuits with their workings, entirely free of cost. Two new circuits are uploaded every month. It has another section where there are more than 1200 circuits for sale available at extremely nominal rates. What's more, you can come up with your own circuit ideas and win prizes!

Soldering/De-soldering guide
You can have an access to basic soldering and de-soldering guide in the web site of EPE Magazine (www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderfaq.htm). This written guide will help beginners and novices to obtain effective results when soldering electronic components. If you have little or no experience of using a soldering iron, then you must practice your soldering technique on some fresh surplus components and clean strip board (proto-board), before experimenting with a proper constructional project. This will help you to avoid the risk of disappointment when you start to assemble your first prototypes.

Electronics jobs
Are you seeking for a job in electronics? Then, www.techcareers.com is your answer. Professionals in the electronics industry converge to match great jobs with the industry's best talents. Enter Job Title, Skills, Location, Company, etc. You can click on the kind of job you require whether in the field of electronics, information technology, communications or software development etc. You can also get an insight into the real life stories on career selection in "Inside Tech-careers". Top jobs in the fast-paced world of converging communications solutions, career news of the day and links to CMP sites Computer Telephony, Call Centre, Tele-connect, Data Communications, Tele.com and Network. The Electronics industry is sizzling with new technology and jobs to match! This will allow staying tuned with trends in training and certification and checking job postings weekly for the best opportunities in the industry. Link to CMPnet leading industry sites EE-Times, EDTN and EE-Zine for the engineering school grad! The ultimate career resource for the professional developer lists job openings from the industry's leaders and brings you news on hiring trends and practices and the job market for specific skills like Java, C/C++, Linux and PERL. For the IT professional, this is the place to start a search for work -- or candidates. For one thing, Tech Careers provides amazing value to its readership with the latest salary surveys and career reporting from CMP Media's TechWeb and Information Week. It has around 50 miscellaneous electronics web links too.

Electronics museum
A funny and abstract electronics site is www.voltnet.com, having articles on older forms of (antique) electrical and electronic appliances. It has an interesting 'humour' section where you can send in your recipes that can be cooked in the 'High voltage zone'. You will have an access to 'Lighting and Bulb collector's page', 'Scientific and medical collector's page', 'Fan collector's page' and 'Radio collector's page'. It also gives you links to several other electronics pages. It also has images sent by other experimenters and enthusiasts. It will surely be a thrilling experience surfing this electronics 'museum'.

Cool learning site on electronics for students
For getting an access to cool science sites and pages full of information worth displaying in science exhibitions, demos, projects, and articles on electricity, just click on www.amasci.com. It is an ideal site for an electronics hobbyist. This gives you links to various other electronics sites
Top B2B site
The B2B horse race is off, and just out of the starting gate are more than 1,000 web marketplaces that have been announced in the past year or so. Each company can be judged on its strategy, its execution, its financial staying power and its website. As older established companies enter the race, it will be increasingly difficult to tell the real B2Bs from the B2B wannabes. You can expect this list to change significantly in a year's time. A report from Forrester Research says that there is an "unsustainable profusion" of B2B web sites. While the researchers say E-marketplace trading will expand rapidly, it won't be fast enough to support all of the current players. There will be less than 200 companies when we're all done with the shakeout, Forrester says; there are believed to be more than 600 in existence now.

www.e2open.com, is an independent, global business-to-business e-marketplace for the computer, electronics and telecommunications industries. e2open.com's electronic marketplace brings together thousands of computer, electronics and telecommunications companies of all sizes, worldwide to plan, manage and execute supply-chain transactions over the Internet. This site can help companies, better forecast and meet customer demand, improving collaboration between a buyer and its suppliers, communication and commerce.
Top B2C site
www.uBid.com is the site, which is taking real steps to attract big and small "suppliers" and expand its inventory beyond just computers and home electronics. It is taking real steps to attract big and small "suppliers" and expand its inventory beyond just computers and home electronics. uBid has launched the Auction Community to demonstrate its recognition of this key sector of the online auction industry. Not only does it give these individual merchants an obvious and easy way to apply to sell on the site, it also affords them special policies.

The Electronics buyer's guide
The Electronics and Electrical buyer's guide (www.electronics-electrical.com) is a good and friendly online shopping site for electronics - from batteries, electronic and electrical appliances, audio and video systems to high tech gadgets, gizmos etc. It also gives you an A-Z bar at the top of the screen to look for products starting with a different letters. You can use the search facility to match products and services that contain the letters that you enter. This will also give you a list of the various dealers dealing in the selected product. It asks for your registration using the 'Register' button. You will be asked to provide some basic information. In case of registered users, one has to have an access to the 'Logon' facility by just entering their valid user names and passwords. Use

Top Electronics company
Samsung is an industry leader in Digital management, characterised by openness, flexibility, and speed. Samsung Group encompasses all key business activities in telecommunications, information processing, home appliances, and semiconductor production (www.samsungindia.com).

Government electronics associations
a) ELCINA (www.elcina.com) represents the voice of Indian electronics industry and promote hardware manufacturing. Apart from this basic objective of promoting hardware manufacturing through active representation and contacts in the Government and other institutions like scientific and industry/trade organisations both in India and abroad, the Association provides a host of professional and value-added services. These services are tailored to serve the best interest of Members and are constantly upgraded to cater to their needs.

b) MIT (www.mit.gov.in/) has been struggling since several years to make India an IT Super power by the year 2008. MIT is responsible in promoting knowledge-based enterprises, Internet, e-commerce, IT based education etc. This site gives you the latest IT bills, acts and events. It covers highlights of seminars and exhibitions too.

The Internet is delivering a big message to Asian electronics manufacturers, distributors and governments: Get online. Trading, Asia's forte, is beginning to go truly global. With small investments and little training, thousands of Asia's small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are adopting business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, positioning them to buy and sell worldwide.

http://www.electronicsforu.com/electronicsforu/Articles/ad.asp?url=/efylinux/efyhome/cover/Nov2000/electronicsinformation.htm&title=Electronics%20Information%20at%20your%20Fingertips