IDT Global Israel
Encyclopedia
IDT Global Israel is a multi-lingual contact services company headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel
.
Until July 1, 2008, it was a fully owned subsidiary of IDT Corp.
; on that date, 80% of the company was sold to its Israeli CEO, Eli Ninio, with 20% remaining in the hands of Howard Jonas
' IDT Corp.
.
Among the company's customers are Netgear
, McAfee
, 888.com, and the Israeli political party Shas
. Most of the company's projects are not in Hebrew - Israel's primary official language - but rather in various European languages, including English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish and others. Until 2007, American companies were the company's main customers; these included AOL
and Knowledge Networks. Since 2008, the company has focused almost exclusively on the European and Israeli markets.
The company's main location is in a Har Hotzvim
office building which is shared with the Israeli branch of NDS Group
. A smaller office is located in the Tel Aviv
neighborhood Ramat HaHayal.
With the deteriorating situation of AOL, the AOL project was gradually downsized and eventually closed and the vast majority of its employees dismissed. Other American projects also closed or downsized, and as the company shrunk, it refocused on the Israeli and European markets. The nighttime operations gradually came to a near-halt, with most projects working during daytime hours.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Until July 1, 2008, it was a fully owned subsidiary of IDT Corp.
IDT Corp.
IDT Corporation is a telecommunications and energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.-History:IDT was founded by entrepreneur Howard Jonas in August 1990...
; on that date, 80% of the company was sold to its Israeli CEO, Eli Ninio, with 20% remaining in the hands of Howard Jonas
Howard Jonas
Howard S. Jonas is the founder of IDT Corp.Jonas founded IDT Corp. in August 1990 and has served as Chairman of the Board since its inception...
' IDT Corp.
IDT Corp.
IDT Corporation is a telecommunications and energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.-History:IDT was founded by entrepreneur Howard Jonas in August 1990...
.
Among the company's customers are Netgear
Netgear
Netgear is a U.S. manufacturer of computer networking equipment and other computer hardware....
, McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
, 888.com, and the Israeli political party Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
. Most of the company's projects are not in Hebrew - Israel's primary official language - but rather in various European languages, including English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish and others. Until 2007, American companies were the company's main customers; these included AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
and Knowledge Networks. Since 2008, the company has focused almost exclusively on the European and Israeli markets.
The company's main location is in a Har Hotzvim
Har Hotzvim
Har Hotzvim , also Campus of Science-Rich Industries is a high-tech industrial park located in northwest Jerusalem, Israel. It is the city's main zone for science-based and technology industries, among them Intel, Teva, Amdocs, NDS, Ophir Optronics, Sandvine, Radware and IDT Global Israel...
office building which is shared with the Israeli branch of NDS Group
NDS Group
NDS Group Plc. is a developer of pay TV technology. NDS was established in 1988 as an Israeli start up company. It was acquired by News Corporation in 1992. The company is currently headquartered in Staines, United Kingdom...
. A smaller office is located in the Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
neighborhood Ramat HaHayal.
Philosophy
When the company was founded in 2004, it was not intended to be profitable. The company was, at that time, focused on the American market in particular, employing almost only new immigrants (olim chadashim) to Israel from North America. Similar companies in India, however, were much cheaper and more profitable due to the lower labor costs there. Howard Jonas, founder of IDT Corp., founded the Israeli branch of his company due to a desire to provide Western immigrants to Israel with an easy entry into the Israeli workforce: they could work in an Israeli company and earn a decent salary, without needing to speak Hebrew fluently. During the company's initial years, most of the activity was at night: shifts from 23:00 until 7:00 were rule rather than exception.With the deteriorating situation of AOL, the AOL project was gradually downsized and eventually closed and the vast majority of its employees dismissed. Other American projects also closed or downsized, and as the company shrunk, it refocused on the Israeli and European markets. The nighttime operations gradually came to a near-halt, with most projects working during daytime hours.