"We understand the effect of the situation on us as a state, as an economy and as an industry and the tech industry is experiencing the war in a number of different vectors," Cisco Israel general manager Oren Sagi told the Israel Business Conference. "We have 132 out of 800 employees mobilized in the army reserves. The tech industry is very much affected by the war but it has a central role in the ability to promote and strengthen the resilience of local business." Also on the panel led by "Globes" technology correspondent Nevo Trabelsy, was Amdocs Israel CEO and division president EMEA Harel Givon and Pagaya Israel general manager Yariv Hasar.
Is the amount of work expected to grow or diminish because of the war?
Harel Givon: "Whoever wants to work at us can work at us. Our aim is to allow our employees to continue to do, and to do even better what they were doing up to October 7." He added, "We have a war routine that creates solidarity between Amdocs's different centers around the world with Israel. This creates fellowship and innovation and we feel needed and contributing."
How do you convey local stability to the global industry during this period?
Yariv Hasar: "Pagaya only works in the US market and since the beginning of the war we have received a lot of empathy and sympathy. We even received an offer to postpone dealings with one of the largest banks in the US. We were offered an extension and we refused to accept it. We want to be business partners, but we are not needy, and that is our message." Hasar added, "25% of our employees are in the reserves, so we prioritized tasks, but we did not delay, and we are on the air in terms of the major financial institutions in the US. This durability is something that is important to convey and preserve along the way. This is, of course, alongside the concern for our people. I think it is less correct to present our challenges to the outside world, we have a responsibility to maintain face."
Technology is not the be-all and end-all
Do you think that the IDF and security forces were too reliant on technology?
Yariv Hasar: "I'll say something that is perhaps less consensual but I see the world of AI and the world of data processing and in my opinion there is no consensus on AI. It could be that we needed AI to process all the signs that were in front of us, because this technology can present a cleaner diagnosis of reality and less biased towards conceptions. AI is a balancing factor and a corrective to human weaknesses, and when used correctly there is a lot of room for it."
Oren Sagi took a different approach on the subject: "Although I am CEO of a tech company, I began my service deep in the mud, in the army. Computing systems and data cenAI do not ultimately replace the person in the tank, the need to be on human alert at dawn. We must learn to be alongside machines, but not let them replace us, and this is part of the concept we need to test."
Harel Givon: "We understood that technology is important, but it has become a goal and not a means. Technology cannot replace leadership, decision-making and values. It cannot be all-seeing and it cannot predict what we as humans think and feel."
Diversity in Israel is important for Israeli society. How is expressed in a war on this scale?
Oren Sagi: "If we don't know how to build bridges and burst the high-tech bubble that is between Herzliya and Tel Aviv, then we will not succeed either in the Zionist dream or in innovation. Yesterday we were in Ofakim and launched a science and technology park. The periphery was hit very hard on October 7 and needs high-tech. Like we did in Sderot, we need to duplicate that."
Harel Givon: "I think that diversity and inclusion is one of the most important lessons that this period has brought with it. If we look at Amdocs' activity in Israel, we only have three offices. Diversity and inclusion make Amdocs a better company, with better people. I see Amdocs and generally the largest companies in Israel, as the new kibbutzim, and if we don't take it and bring those people, embrace them, it will be our failure. I really invite companies to come, establish offices and bring innovation, bring R&D, and then we can make the desert bloom as well in these areas". Givon adds, "We employ hundreds of workers from the Arab sector in Nazareth, Ra'anana and other offices. For example, we celebrated Christmas, and the workers and families dedicated gift packages with Christmas motifs to the families from the Gaza border area."
Yariv Hasar: "Last August, we opened the company's office in Sakhnin with a belief in diversity and inclusion, with zero exceptions. We get excellent people and they work in an excellent way. Employees from Sakhnin back up employees who are in the reserves, there are values of friendship and inclusion, and we see the big profit both for Israeli society and for professional companies and businesses themselves."
Oren Sagi added, "Here is an opportunity to rebuild. The high-tech industry must lead the change in leadership and priorities."
From corporate responsibility to Civilian services
How do you see the high-tech industry after the war?
Harel Givon: "I think that after the war we should move from corporate responsibility to civilian service. High-tech should be a significant body both in education and in activities in the periphery. We are a body that knows how to lead significant things, and if we don't use our power, we will miss out big time. Israel is an asset and not a burden, and we need everyone here and all the companies."
Yariv Hasar: "I agree with the sense of duty and responsibility, I am also optimistic. I am still in the reserves, and I see the innovation and creativity that is already happening today, while fighting, which will probably translate into innovation in civilian industry as well, and I see the opportunities that will arise from this." He added, "It is our duty, as a high-tech industry and as a community that desires life, to exhaust our capabilities. The civilian model that integrates doing business, this integrated model, is something that we must allow and leverage and find the opportunities for in the future."
Oren Sagi added, "We have set up a platform called 'Businesses in Resurgence' and it currently has 160 companies that are mobilizing for the Gaza border settlements. We are trying to think about how to help those settlements rebuild themselves and better."
The three panel members also spoke about the volunteer activities of their companies
Oren Sagi: On October 8, we received a call from the Cisco CEO asking what we need in an unequivocal statement that Cisco stands with Israel. We donated $2 million with matching funds to various organizations and granted 20 additional vacation days for volunteering in the community, as well as activities that include launching an innovation center in Ofakim and supporting members of Kibbutz Re'em. We are not instead of the government, but we do activities that the government does not do. We stand by Israel even in its difficult hour, and we see commitment throughout the organization."
Harel Givon said that Amdocs housed the evacuated families of its employees in hotels. Many of Amdocs' employees are residents of the south, so much so that the company is the largest employer in the south. "Amdocs' greatest assets are our people and the technology we are developing. We decided to adopt Sderot and focus on bringing high-tech to Sderot and increase activity in the city."
Yariv Hasar said, "One of the most moving things in my view is the relationship with Pagaya's American employees, who rallied in New York and prepared aid packages for the people of the Gaza border. It is very exciting because it is not something that they have to do. It strengthened the relationship between us." Hasar added, "Pagaya is a company with AI and technology. We were part of the ecosystem of several high-tech companies, and we took part in a project to locate hostages and harnessed our assets for this."
The 2023 Globes Israel Business Conference was held in partnership with Bank Hapoalim and The Phoenix Holdings, with sponsorship from Meta, Shufersal, Bazan (Oil Refineries), Amdocs, Pagaya, Energean, MSCI, Cisco, and the Yanai Foundation, and with the participation of Mekorot, Israel Ports Company, the Port of Ashdod, and the Israel Innovation Authority.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 20, 2023.
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