"The IoT Comes to the Old Industry & Economy as well"
The IoT revolution is not only about banks or networked vehicles. According to Shai Ozon, CEO of One1 Software Technologies, traditional industry is also getting into the application world. Special interview
Amir Rapaport
| 19/01/2018
Image: Bigstock
While the attention of Internet of Things (IoT) developments was devoted primarily to sectors regarded as the cutting edge of technology, like banking or networked vehicles, the CEO of the One1 Software Technologies Group believes that "The Old Economy" offers a serious potential, too. While we were not paying attention, traditional industry and even complex logistic setups have been undergoing an "IoT revolution," and are currently an inseparable part of the ever-increasing global cyber revolution.
"We went to several companies to ask them how they can utilize cutting-edge technologies," recounts CEO Shai Ozon. "For example, we went to a company engaged in the distribution of gas for domestic consumption and asked them how they can use technology. A utility gas supplier can fit a component before the tank to receive an indication of when the tank is about to run out. The consumers will not have to wait until the tank has run out. Instead, they may order in advance or even purchase a new tank and replace the empty one on their own."
Another example is a food supplier. "You can connect to the food container – check the amount of food it contains and transmit it. As soon as the contents have reached 20% of full capacity, an alert will be generated automatically through the ERP system and the supplier will be alerted to replenish the food container. This involves connecting to several elements, like the Amazon cloud, which operates all of the processes in the data systems, and then I can issue a command to the ERP to generate a client order automatically.
"As far as we are concerned, in the coming years, we will see more and more projects and demands for that connectivity, until we have passed this surge in industry and we'll have new projects involving a replacement of all of the systems. We can already see that in several banks, where there are tenders involving the replacement of the banking systems. These things always seem to emerge in major industry. In the past, it was the high-tech industry, where before the year 2000 there were investments and crazy ERP projects. It started there and then permeated down to the smaller organizations. Now we see it happening in the financial organizations, where there is actually more money and sometimes mandatory regulation as well. I recently saw the difference between 'Pepper' (mobile banking app) and others, as unlike others (for example, 'Poalim Bit' by Bank HaPoalim, a payment transfer app) – it is an infrastructure for a new banking system. A revolution is a process that does not happen in a single day, and we are currently beginning to see these processes. We are preparing ourselves for the future processes.
"We are also strong in the retail side. We acquired a company involved in the cash register business – this world is about to undergo a change. Today we have to face a cashier at the supermarket. So admittedly, there are self-service registers in Israel, but that is about as technologically-refined as it gets. Now they are already speaking about 'smart trollies.' In my opinion, there is nothing very innovative about fitting a thousand cameras to a trolley in order to capture the barcode. This field of activity has not had a technological upgrade in a long time.
"The entire IoT world is very 'sexy' and everyone is talking about it – but in many cases it is an action-reaction process rather than integration between systems. In my opinion, there is a tremendous opportunity in the integration of all of the systems."
Along with IoT, One1 are also involved in information security and cybersecurity. The One1 Software Technologies Group offers their clients various solutions in this field. The Group's information security and cybersecurity division is run by Haim Halpern and adapts technological solutions to the clients' needs for an extensive range of services and products. This division is primarily involved in organizational identity management, monitoring and control of authorization usage, threat detection, database security, implementation of cutting-edge protective systems and a robust identification application. The division also operates a cybersecurity center intended to protect organizations using intelligence based on big data analysis.
Between the Old World and the New
Shai Ozon has been serving as CEO of One1 Software Technologies since 2013. He joined the group after it acquired a software service company he had established – WiseCom. That acquisition was a part of an on-going acquisition strategy, which has included such major companies as Harel Computers and even the automation company that operates the computer services of local/municipal authorities in Israel (originally established by the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel).
According to Ozon, "We are a stock exchange company with a turnover of 1.3 billion, traded on the Tel-Aviv 125 index. We are one of Israel's largest integration companies with a workforce on the scope of 4,000 employees. In fact, we operate in three activity sectors. The first is software, which is our primary sector of activity.
"The second sector is infrastructures – traditionally, this is the sector of activity that deals with the world of computer infrastructures, hardware and things like that. We win many tenders, work with government agencies and with major organizations. We have substantial storage facilities in Shoham, where we complete the integration process before we deliver the goods.
"The third sector involves technological support centers. In fact, every organization that runs an IT support center, like Teva or other major companies – we provide them with those technological support centers. These are our three activity sectors and that is how we are divided in our financial reports.
"So, as I said, our primary sector is the software sector, which is actually divided into three activities, as far as I am concerned – one involves organizational systems such as ERP or CRM. The second activity involves professional services that we provide, and the third activity involves software products. What are organizational applications? If you look at the world of ERP, we are providers of SAP NetSwit and Oracle solutions. We have our own ERP system which is, in fact, an Israeli development used by many organizations here in Israel. In the fields of CRM we have Microsoft and SalesForce and PivotWell, which is a product we represent.
"In fact, there are many applications. We come to an organization and implement the specific application at that organization. In other words, we have units that are familiar with the applicative world of a certain application and come to implement it. There are longer processes, for example, ERP is a process that takes about a year to implement, and there are smaller systems for which the processes are shorter. You need professionals who know the systems well and know how to do this integration. This is one of our worlds.
"The second activity involves consultants, development specialists for all kinds of development environments. We undertake projects in such worlds as Microsoft, Force.com – which is the development arm of SalesForce, we have a major development center in Jerusalem and in fact we have all kinds of clients for whom we undertake development projects according to their requirements and specifications. The third activity consists of the consultants we provide to manpower organizations in any technological field they require – we have a major recruitment center and we are fairly well connected in the market."
"The third activity which defines the software world is software products, and here we have a number of products we represent, in the field of information security as well as in other fields. The idea is to take product manufacturers that have to focus on the development of the product and serve as their marketing arm for Israel – One1 Start. Incidentally, most of our activity is in Israel. We have a development center in Bulgaria – but it is not a major one. We add products all the time. We are also the distributors of IBM software products – they sell their software through distributors, not directly."
In the last few years they have focused on the new world, which consists of cloud-based applications whose implementation is much faster, they always fulfill a certain part of the organization's needs. In the CRM world, for example, they solve problems of sales, technicians and HR. Each such application dominates a specific field of activity.
"We are still a company that offers the basic ERP systems – where we are traditionally very strong and thoroughly familiar almost with the entire world of ERP, and there are new solutions. In fact, the challenge organizations face is how to connect their existing systems to the new world – to external systems. If, for example, a bank wishes to implement an application through which you will be able to deposit a check – that application will be the new world, but it must connect to the banking systems so as to obtain your balance.
"Take, for example, a salesperson going out to the field – he/she wants to check how much inventory is available, so he/she will log on to the application, and that is why the application must be connected to an existing system. I want customers to order my goods through the telephone – we completed a major project for Diplomat in this field. Let's say that someone wants to order a carton of Ketchup. I want you to be able to log on and check out my inventory and my products. Where is that stored? It is stored in the SAP systems, of all places.
"The challenge is to connect and obtain the information from the systems at the bottom to the systems at the top – these are our projects for the coming years. Until all of those systems have gone up to the cloud – this process will take time. Organizations do not develop their own new systems so quickly.
"In recent years we developed all kinds of new applications which are truly 'killers' in what they do. They do it far better than the old systems. Many organizations still want to adopt them, but without losing all of the information they had accumulated over the years. This is a kind of worldview – I can help you connect the new systems with the old systems – connect the new information with the information you already have."
The IoT revolution is not only about banks or networked vehicles. According to Shai Ozon, CEO of One1 Software Technologies, traditional industry is also getting into the application world. Special interview
Image: Bigstock
While the attention of Internet of Things (IoT) developments was devoted primarily to sectors regarded as the cutting edge of technology, like banking or networked vehicles, the CEO of the One1 Software Technologies Group believes that "The Old Economy" offers a serious potential, too. While we were not paying attention, traditional industry and even complex logistic setups have been undergoing an "IoT revolution," and are currently an inseparable part of the ever-increasing global cyber revolution.
"We went to several companies to ask them how they can utilize cutting-edge technologies," recounts CEO Shai Ozon. "For example, we went to a company engaged in the distribution of gas for domestic consumption and asked them how they can use technology. A utility gas supplier can fit a component before the tank to receive an indication of when the tank is about to run out. The consumers will not have to wait until the tank has run out. Instead, they may order in advance or even purchase a new tank and replace the empty one on their own."
Another example is a food supplier. "You can connect to the food container – check the amount of food it contains and transmit it. As soon as the contents have reached 20% of full capacity, an alert will be generated automatically through the ERP system and the supplier will be alerted to replenish the food container. This involves connecting to several elements, like the Amazon cloud, which operates all of the processes in the data systems, and then I can issue a command to the ERP to generate a client order automatically.
"As far as we are concerned, in the coming years, we will see more and more projects and demands for that connectivity, until we have passed this surge in industry and we'll have new projects involving a replacement of all of the systems. We can already see that in several banks, where there are tenders involving the replacement of the banking systems. These things always seem to emerge in major industry. In the past, it was the high-tech industry, where before the year 2000 there were investments and crazy ERP projects. It started there and then permeated down to the smaller organizations. Now we see it happening in the financial organizations, where there is actually more money and sometimes mandatory regulation as well. I recently saw the difference between 'Pepper' (mobile banking app) and others, as unlike others (for example, 'Poalim Bit' by Bank HaPoalim, a payment transfer app) – it is an infrastructure for a new banking system. A revolution is a process that does not happen in a single day, and we are currently beginning to see these processes. We are preparing ourselves for the future processes.
"We are also strong in the retail side. We acquired a company involved in the cash register business – this world is about to undergo a change. Today we have to face a cashier at the supermarket. So admittedly, there are self-service registers in Israel, but that is about as technologically-refined as it gets. Now they are already speaking about 'smart trollies.' In my opinion, there is nothing very innovative about fitting a thousand cameras to a trolley in order to capture the barcode. This field of activity has not had a technological upgrade in a long time.
"The entire IoT world is very 'sexy' and everyone is talking about it – but in many cases it is an action-reaction process rather than integration between systems. In my opinion, there is a tremendous opportunity in the integration of all of the systems."
Along with IoT, One1 are also involved in information security and cybersecurity. The One1 Software Technologies Group offers their clients various solutions in this field. The Group's information security and cybersecurity division is run by Haim Halpern and adapts technological solutions to the clients' needs for an extensive range of services and products. This division is primarily involved in organizational identity management, monitoring and control of authorization usage, threat detection, database security, implementation of cutting-edge protective systems and a robust identification application. The division also operates a cybersecurity center intended to protect organizations using intelligence based on big data analysis.
Between the Old World and the New
Shai Ozon has been serving as CEO of One1 Software Technologies since 2013. He joined the group after it acquired a software service company he had established – WiseCom. That acquisition was a part of an on-going acquisition strategy, which has included such major companies as Harel Computers and even the automation company that operates the computer services of local/municipal authorities in Israel (originally established by the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel).
According to Ozon, "We are a stock exchange company with a turnover of 1.3 billion, traded on the Tel-Aviv 125 index. We are one of Israel's largest integration companies with a workforce on the scope of 4,000 employees. In fact, we operate in three activity sectors. The first is software, which is our primary sector of activity.
"The second sector is infrastructures – traditionally, this is the sector of activity that deals with the world of computer infrastructures, hardware and things like that. We win many tenders, work with government agencies and with major organizations. We have substantial storage facilities in Shoham, where we complete the integration process before we deliver the goods.
"The third sector involves technological support centers. In fact, every organization that runs an IT support center, like Teva or other major companies – we provide them with those technological support centers. These are our three activity sectors and that is how we are divided in our financial reports.
"So, as I said, our primary sector is the software sector, which is actually divided into three activities, as far as I am concerned – one involves organizational systems such as ERP or CRM. The second activity involves professional services that we provide, and the third activity involves software products. What are organizational applications? If you look at the world of ERP, we are providers of SAP NetSwit and Oracle solutions. We have our own ERP system which is, in fact, an Israeli development used by many organizations here in Israel. In the fields of CRM we have Microsoft and SalesForce and PivotWell, which is a product we represent.
"In fact, there are many applications. We come to an organization and implement the specific application at that organization. In other words, we have units that are familiar with the applicative world of a certain application and come to implement it. There are longer processes, for example, ERP is a process that takes about a year to implement, and there are smaller systems for which the processes are shorter. You need professionals who know the systems well and know how to do this integration. This is one of our worlds.
"The second activity involves consultants, development specialists for all kinds of development environments. We undertake projects in such worlds as Microsoft, Force.com – which is the development arm of SalesForce, we have a major development center in Jerusalem and in fact we have all kinds of clients for whom we undertake development projects according to their requirements and specifications. The third activity consists of the consultants we provide to manpower organizations in any technological field they require – we have a major recruitment center and we are fairly well connected in the market."
"The third activity which defines the software world is software products, and here we have a number of products we represent, in the field of information security as well as in other fields. The idea is to take product manufacturers that have to focus on the development of the product and serve as their marketing arm for Israel – One1 Start. Incidentally, most of our activity is in Israel. We have a development center in Bulgaria – but it is not a major one. We add products all the time. We are also the distributors of IBM software products – they sell their software through distributors, not directly."
In the last few years they have focused on the new world, which consists of cloud-based applications whose implementation is much faster, they always fulfill a certain part of the organization's needs. In the CRM world, for example, they solve problems of sales, technicians and HR. Each such application dominates a specific field of activity.
"We are still a company that offers the basic ERP systems – where we are traditionally very strong and thoroughly familiar almost with the entire world of ERP, and there are new solutions. In fact, the challenge organizations face is how to connect their existing systems to the new world – to external systems. If, for example, a bank wishes to implement an application through which you will be able to deposit a check – that application will be the new world, but it must connect to the banking systems so as to obtain your balance.
"Take, for example, a salesperson going out to the field – he/she wants to check how much inventory is available, so he/she will log on to the application, and that is why the application must be connected to an existing system. I want customers to order my goods through the telephone – we completed a major project for Diplomat in this field. Let's say that someone wants to order a carton of Ketchup. I want you to be able to log on and check out my inventory and my products. Where is that stored? It is stored in the SAP systems, of all places.
"The challenge is to connect and obtain the information from the systems at the bottom to the systems at the top – these are our projects for the coming years. Until all of those systems have gone up to the cloud – this process will take time. Organizations do not develop their own new systems so quickly.
"In recent years we developed all kinds of new applications which are truly 'killers' in what they do. They do it far better than the old systems. Many organizations still want to adopt them, but without losing all of the information they had accumulated over the years. This is a kind of worldview – I can help you connect the new systems with the old systems – connect the new information with the information you already have."
