"We'll expand here soon," Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers said at a press conference today in the Jerusalem offices of recently acquired digital TV broadcasting encryption developer NDS Group. He added, "There are a lot of opportunities here. It's the second country, after the US, in terms of start-ups and entrepreneurship. There are companies here that do not grow enough, and what we do is to bring these companies into the Cisco family and grow their activity. I don’t think that there is a better time to invest here, in partnerships, venture capital, and help our partners expand."
Chambers, on his first public visit to Israel in more than four and a half years, should know what he is talking about. In March, Cisco acquired NDS, a London-based company with its development center in Israel, for $5 billion.
"When we also have the NDS base in Israel, we can enter fields such as security," said Chambers, adding, "Although NDS's headquarters are in Britain, its heart and soul are in Israel."
Chambers' confidence in Israel is also based on a 15-year personal relationship with President Shimon Peres. "This is a country whose leaders and entrepreneurs I believe in. I believe that it's possible to find a successful formula for both sides." Cisco and the Israeli government have set up a joint team to examine ways of expanding their collaboration.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 19, 2012
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