You want to know why Microsoft has a large r&d arm in Israel? Ask Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect.

Ozzie is in Israel to attend the “Think Next” annual conference. 23 start ups parading their talents and hopes in front of the industry’s finest. As Ozzie was quoted back in Hebrew: –

There are some wonderful technologies here, which makes you want to find out more about them.

Mere words? As Ozzie was quizzing the latest group of Israeli entrepreneurs, I was visiting a company a few miles down the road. Its technology has the capacity to compress data on a computer by 50%. The ROI per work station can be measured, reaching thousands of dollars in a few years.