Wearable computing is the wave of the future, and Tamra, a mid-size city in Northern Israel, is riding that wave, thanks to Xybernaut and VITTS.
 
And it all started with an introduction between Xybernaut and the mayor of Tamra made at last year's VITTS conference.   Beyond its business ties to Tamra, VITTS has opened some incredible doors for Xybernaut into Israel, and today Israel is one of Xybernaut's leading international markets outside of the U.S.
 
"VITTS was a tremendous value to us for business development purposes, helping us get into some of Israel's leading small to midsize companies while opening initial doors for dialogue with large Israeli companies," said Yossi Ben-Dak, executive vice president and Xybernaut's chief scientist.   "The primary value of VITTS is the way it is structured, which is so unlike any other conference or trade summit I have ever attended, and I have attended a lot of these events.”
 
In Tamra, high schools today are teaching courses using wearable computing, and the city has plans to implement the latest in wearable computing technology throughout the region, in hospitals, in security operations, and in vital communications. 
 
"Tamra, an Arab city in Northern Israel, sees technology as a way to bridge its past with its future, while at the same time acting as a great equalizer in bringing all people together, which can ultimately help to promote peace.  Toward that end, Xybernaut is seen as a key partner, providing the people of Tamra with computer and communications capabilities wherever they go," said Ben-Dak.
 
VITTS draws on its huge database of companies to hone in on the right companies and to target the right set of people, including all levels of top management and government.  
 
“They also helped us do our homework, working with us early on to identify and focus on the right set of companies,” says Ben-Dak.   “Then they provided us with the critical intelligence that allowed us to really leverage the conference to our advantage.  At VITTS, you certainly walk away with more than just exchanging business cards.  You're well on your way to defining deals.”
 
For Xybernaut, a fast growing company that is traded on the Nasdaq exchange, Israel represents an incredibly important market that is critical to its business success.  Not only was Israel important in terms of R&D, but also for developing strategic partnerships and introducing Xybernaut to new product ideas, technologies and applications.  
 
Though Israel only has a population of 6 million people, living in a country that is the size of the state of New Jersey, it is incredibly rich with highly creative and talented people.
 
"Unfortunately, a lot of companies here in the U.S. look offshore to companies like India, Japan or Brazil to get their needs met.  But those same U.S. companies are also finding that doing business in those countries is often a hit-or-miss situation, because the talent is so scattered and it often winds up being a waste of time,” says Ben-Dak.   “Here, in Israel, that's not the case: the talent is very concentrated, and some of the leading, renowned experts live only a few miles apart, or even on the same street.  It really boils down to your odds of finding the best people in a country with a population of 1 billion or a country of 6 million."
 
Not only has VITTS helped open doors for Xybernaut in Israel, says Ben-Dak, but it has also helped the company understand how to speak Israel's business language, which is of equal importance once the right connections have been made.   Ben-Dak says Xybernaut executives experienced this first-hand and considered this a huge value-add to the event.
 
"Be prepared for the roughness of the culture: people speak their minds --  they are very frank.  But also realize that's the way they were brought up, which lead to lots of creativity, lots of unorthodox, out of the box thinking," says Ben-Dak.   "When dealing with Israeli's, US companies should learn to take full advantage of their feedback, which is usually instant, very complete and spot on."
 
 
Ben-Dak says Xybernaut swears by VITTS and sees their missions to Israel, including the upcoming mission in June, as a must-attend for anyone trying to do business in Israel or trying to gain new insights into R&D, manufacturing, or the latest advances in technology and applications.   Israeli businesses' deep roots in the Israeli military, as well as the high concentration of leading Russian Jewish scientists and engineers, all make it an attractive place for U.S. companies seeking new business opportunities.   Israel is also a major gateway for trade with Eastern Europe, and with the former Soviet republics.
 
"We believe wholeheartedly in what VITTS is doing,” says Ben-Dak.  “Xybernaut benefited tremendously from the experience and I would highly recommend it to any company that wants to expand into the Israeli market.  VITTS provides a unique service for companies, and what’s even better is that VITTS takes care of everything, so companies don’t have to spend a lot of time -- or money – to get high impact results.”