Earlier this week, I wrote how I am bewildered how Israel, a nation of less than 8 million people, continues to hold such an important position in the global tech revolution of the past two decades. 

I listed five stories that I had come across in the past few days. However, I did not realise that I was only just scratching the top of a very large iceberg. The comments of John Chambers, CEO of Cisco and visiting Jerusalem this week, put this into perspective.

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 is specifically looking for partnerships between Jews and non-Jews. And where he leads, others are right behind him. CA from California has committed itself to setting up an innovation centre with Tel Aviv University. “The new center will focus on enterprise computer infrastructure management and cyber security. CA did not disclose details about the planned investment in the center, but it will reportedly total several million dollars.”

 And for specific successes of the week, let’s start with Flash Networks from Herzylia, just north of Tel Aviv. The company was named co-winner of the prestigious Global Telecoms Business Innovation Award for Mobile Content and Services Innovation.

Second, LucidLogix is reported to be providing support to millions of global game users via its partnership with Intel on motherboards.

Third, Orad Hi-Tec offers video servers, which are cheap and effective solutions for all the video cassettes stored in TV station warehouses. It is exceeding helpful when TV stations need quick and ready access to old sporting tapes. Bottom line is that the company has become Israel’s main rep at the 2012 European Football Championships, as several large organisations like the BBC use their services.

A country of 8 million people? A country surrounded by geopolitical issues? A government that can barely run the fire brigade? Israel’s youthful private sector has found a method to get around these restrictions.