SAP Labs Israel product and technology group president Shai Agassi said today that he feared that Israel was gradually moving out of the price range that enabled it to compete.
Speaking in a special interview with “Globes” Agassi said, “We rely on high-tech not just as high-tech, but as the growth engine for the entire economy. If we can’t bring more people into the high-tech sector, we’ll have to lower our expectations of how far this engine can pull the entire train. This will require us to find other engines.
”We need to find the things in which we have a relative advantage, such as alternative energy. Israel’s size means it can be used for sufficiently extensive trials, in a small area. There are no long distances here. What’s more, we are spending $2 billion a year on fuel.”
Agassi also attacked SAP’s main rival, Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL). “You can think of Oracle’s acquisitions as a crash involving six cars ramming each other from behind. You’re constantly checking your rear mirror instead of looking ahead. It’s pretty easy to spend $19 billion on acquisitions, but how you do put it altogether to give added value?”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 19, 2006
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