Check Point CEO Says Israel is a Great Place for Business
Monday, May 19th, 2008
Check Point is one of Israel's top tech success stories. They have thousands of employees and campuses in both Silicon Valley and Israel. On a recent trip with a bunch of bloggers I had a chance to sit down with Gil Shwed, Check Point's CEO, who talked about the economic climate in Israel, how doing business in Israel compares to Silicon Valley, and a lot more. In the video you'll see Renee Blodgett, Cathy Brooks, Deborah Schultz, JD Lasica, Jeff Saperstein, and Susan Mernit.
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yes it's really so.. The Tel Aviv-based Check Point is one of the world's largest internet and network security companies. Though it's a small country with limited resources, Israel stands out as one of the world's most competitive economies. In fact, The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Israel as the 17th (out of 125) most competitive economy in its 2007 Global Competitive Index.
The country's market economy can be characterized as resilient, global-oriented, and advanced technology-based. Over the last two decades, Israel has become famous for its high-tech capacity, particularly in telecommunications, information technology, electronics and life sciences. Its capacity for innovation and highly educated, skilled workforce have played a key role in its rating as a high-tech center next to Silicon Valley in California and the belt along Route 128 in the Boston area.
The difference between doing business in other places and the United States is that in other (first world, mostly EU) countries, the public sector plays a MUCH larger role in your life. I used to live in Ireland, and was brought up in England. From providing healthcare to regulating the size of wine bottles, government intervention in everyday life is nearly pervasive. Since Israel is culturally European (as opposed to American), I'd expect government to function much as it does in Europe.