Thursday, November 3, 2011

Mass., Palestine software companies flirt with partnerships

By Andrew Tarsy, president and executive director, Progressive Business Leaders Network

A delegation of Palestinian software development CEOs visited Massachusetts in early October to introduce their capabilities to area companies and to look for partnership opportunities in U.S. markets. The trip was organized by the Palestinian IT Association (PITA), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (US AID). US AID is a U.S. government agency that does economic development in the West Bank and Gaza. Here in Massachusetts, much of the success of the trip was owed to MOITI – the Patrick Administration’s highly effective state office of international trade and investment.

The visitors met with more than 30 different companies from startups to some of the giants, and had a memorable reunion with Governor Deval Patrick, whose meeting with PITA representatives in Jerusalem during a March 2011 Trade and Economic Development mission led to this exploration of investment in Massachusetts by the Palestinian companies.

I interviewed Yahya Al-Salqan, CEO of the Palestinian IT firm Jaffa.net by email a few days after his visit here and asked about his impressions and goals for follow-up:

Briefly, what does Jaffa.net do and how big is it?
Jaffa.Net (www.i-jaffa.net), a 12-year-old company with 40 employees and two branches in Palestine, specialized in software product development and software outsourcing. Jaffa.Net pioneered a secure mobile payment solution for the under-banked and individuals with no credit cards. In addition, Jaffa.Net has built many applications, including the court management system that is used in Jordan and Palestine as well as a cloud based School Management system. Jaffa.Net is currently doing a software outsourcing project for Intel and we provide outsourcing services to Fujistu.

You are part of PITA - what is that and what is its purpose?
Jaffa.Net is a founding member of the Palestinian IT Association of Companies (PITA), a member-based association representing the companies working in ICT. PITA’s role is helping ICT companies to widen their markets, advocate for the IT sector and working to improve the business and investment ecosystem in the Palestinian ICT sector.

What was the purpose of this U.S. visit and why Massachusetts?
The main purpose of our visit is to follow up with Governor Patrick and our meeting with his business delegation in Jerusalem in March. The trip is an attempt by the main software companies to learn from the Massachusetts ecosystem and to build relations with world class companies in Massachusetts either to represent companies in the Middle East and/or to provide software development and quality assurance outsourcing projects. We aimed also to introduce the Palestinian ICT sector with its innovative strengths and abilities to open the Middle Eastern market. Yes, Palestinian talents are open for business.

Were you pleased with the way you and your colleagues were received in Boston and Cambridge?
Absolutely. It was an eye-opening experience to learn and to feel the energy in the IT and software sector in the Boston area and Cambridge. The organization of our visit was very well done and the types of meetings organized were on target. Meeting and visiting MOITI and so many others: MIT, MISTI, Harvard Business School, Cambridge Innovation Center, Mass Challenge, Google, Microsoft, and the Venture Café were all highlights. In addition, meeting with diaspora Arabs and Palestinian ICT professionals was a great experience that can bring good things in the future. Not to forget the 60-minute “Executive MBA” we received at Harvard from Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital, which was very rewarding. I believe John Cullinane, who we met with as well, can play a mentoring role to us based on his experience in building and strengthening the software industry in Northern Ireland, and support our pursuit of a linkage with the Palestinian Diaspora and building a “friends of Palestine” network in the U.S. IT ecosystem.

What was your impression of the level of technology business in Massachusetts compared with what you have seen around the world?
I believe that the level of technology business and the Massachusetts ecosystem for creating and supporting innovation is unique and sets an excellent example to learn from. I worked many years in Silicon Valley myself while working at Sun Microsystems and I felt the level of energy in Massachusetts is un-match-able.

Were there any companies here that particularly impressed you?
I was very impressed by the Vsnap startup and by Wayfair in particular for the innovative approaches both have and their ability to succeed in this highly competitive market. A word of congratulations goes to Wayfair for winning the “Company of the Year” award at the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s Awards Dinner, which our delegation was pleased to attend. After spending time there during my visit I feel like I am part of them and was happy for them.

What is a specific outcome that you can imagine coming from the visit to Massachusetts?
Many things: first and foremost, we need to create a stronger linkage between our ICT private sector and the Palestinian universities. We need to train our staff to work on innovative approaches and solutions that can “change the world”, and lastly, we need to build up our “Friends of Palestine” network to strengthen our technology ecosystem. 

Will you be coming back to Massachusetts?
Absolutely! See you soon Massachusetts. We are counting on being a good partner for a win-win relationship between businesses that grows both your economy and ours.


 

Andrew Tarsy is president and executive director of the Boston-based Progressive Business Leaders Network (PBLN). He was part of the Massachusetts delegation that first met with the PITA group in Jerusalem in March, and he helped to organize the reverse mission to Massachusetts.