Israel's top ten technologies that are transforming the Web

Israel is at the cutting edge of some of the best Internet technologies around. ISRAEL21c takes a look at the brightest new companies that are now revolutionizing the web.

The technology sector is no secret

Israel's success in the technology sector is no secret. Over the years, the country has become a key research and development center for multinational companies such as Motorola and Intel, had a role in revolutionizing the way we use the Web and conduct business on it, and kept our computers and browsers secure.

Yaron Samid, an entrepreneur and founder of TechAviv Angels, a group that connects successful Israeli entrepreneurs and investors in the Internet and mobile sectors, thinks the military experience and the culture it creates are the biggest contributing factors to the country's success in this sector: "In the army, these young soldiers are being told what they can and can't do. When they get out of it, they realize they are now in control and can determine their own destiny.

Low costs and numerous successes have attracted investors such as Jeff Pulver. A former pioneer in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and current Internet angel investor, Pulver maintains strong ties to the sector in Israel and frequently visits the country to meet with local web startups because "what sector of the Internet space hasn't been touched by Israeli innovation?"

Since it was founded in1999, MediaMind has helped to change the way the Internet is used by users and advertisers. Through its rich media ad solutions and recent ad-serving platform, advertisers have been able to engage Internet users and users have been able to interact with the ads. MediaMind, the flagship product, is an ad serving and campaign management solution that gives agencies and advertisers total control over their campaigns.

The business

To grow the business and take more of a share of the market that is currently dominated by Google and Microsoft, the company changed its name to MediaMind in June 2010 to better represent its chosen direction. It is also planning to file for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2010.

Changing the way tens of millions of people communicate on the web, its software enables users to express themselves by adding emoticons, background colors and other features to their online communication tools.

MyHeritage is a family-based social network that completes the social network trifecta of friends, business acquaintances and family. Founded in 2003, MyHeritage helps users build their family trees and connect to and share information with family members. After acquiring OSN, a network of genealogy sites including popular sites in Germany and Poland in early 2010, MyHeritage now has 540 million profiles and 47 million active users.

Online technical support community of experts

FixYa is an online technical support community of experts and consumers who come together to trouble-shoot post-sale technical issues of products. Founded by Yaniv Ben-Saadan in 2005, Fixya gathers product support information throughout the Internet in one location and has a Q&A knowledge base that covers everything from car questions to the iPad. The information is constantly updated by a committed community.