The US Federal Government has always been a rich purchaser of IT related products and services. In most years, the combined Defense, Civilian, and Intelligence IT budgets reach well into the tens of billions of dollars. Growth rate: a consistent 4-6 percent per year.  However, Israeli companies need to understand what’s unique about this market before pursuing it the right way. Success requires corporate commitment, planning, the right location and focus.

Tadiran Telecom has its corporate headquarters in Petah Tikva. Israel and a Federal Government sales office in Alexandria, Virginia.  According to David Sopko, General Manager, Government Systems Divison, "This is where are 'partners' are.  It's a no brainer.  Tadiran had to open an office here to be a serious player.  We now have 6 employees in this office and continue to hire as we speak.   We hope to employ 50 when our marketing plan is fully ramped up." 

Sopko said that Tadiran’s management’s decision to enter the Federal Government correctly in the late 1990s had set the company up for success. “Selling to the Federal Government required a fundamental shift in how the company went about its business." “For example, Tadiran had been selling its products through a dealer network for decades. We determined that due to how the Federal Government purchases products, it made more sense for Tadiran to establish a direct channel in addition to the channel. Senior management agreed to establish a direct channel and to this day, we’re the only division in the company that sells direct.”

The Secret to Tadiran's Success... and near miss
The division has had great success in the past four years after the company made the decision to pursue the market properly. However, success was not always guaranteed.  For a few years, beginning in 1995 when Tadiran first decided to pursue the market, it did not fully implement all of the necessary processes and depended primarily upon channel partners for all of its business.  The employees who were tasked with building the business had limited experience in the market and did not fully comprehend what was needed to grow the business.
 
To its credit, Tadiran hired a couple of critical employees in 1999 to help it grow the business properly, included Sopko who had worked with Tadiran since the mid 1990s as a channel partner at SAIC.  Originally, Tadiran sold its products to the Government using the SAIC GSA (General Services Administration) contract (also known as a schedule.)  Sopko immediately recommended that the company pursue its own GSA schedule.
 
Sopko, who had an extensive background selling to and working for the government, was an industry veteran who knew the terrain and how to effectively do business “inside the Beltway,” industry vernacular for doing business with the Government.  “In 1999, our CEO at the time made the decision to set up an organization comprised of people who knew how to market and sell to this market.  The Government market has unique requirements concerning accounting processes and policy compliance, for example.  Companies will only be successful if they hire people who know the market and then empower them to be successful. This goes not just for international companies looking to penetrate the market, but for US companies as well.”
 
The decision to pursue its own GSA schedule and sell direct to the government to complement the company’s dealer network meant a fundamental shift in the way the company did business.  The company needed to support the decision to go direct by adding staff, building infrastructure including back office systems and contract administration, and customer support systems including a help desk.  “As the business grew, we needed to continue building the infrastructure to support our direct and dealer business,” said Sopko.  The company also opened an office in Alexandria, Virginia to be near its customers and partners.
 
“The Federal Government is a potentially huge market, however being successful requires companies to hire the right people with industry knowledge and then give them the corporate support and empowerment they need to do what’s right to build and grow the business,” said Sopko.
 
The success of Tadiran’s investment in the market has been apparent in its growth and customer wins.  Recently the company announced a major deal at Veterans Benefits Administration.  At the VBA, calls are managed and routed by a centralized facility using Coral FlexCT software from Tadiran, which manages calls and operates on a standard Tadiran Coral PBX.
 
An established leader in telecommunications for more than 40 years, Tadiran Telecom provides integrated communications systems that support voice, data, video and advanced networking applications.  An established leader in telecommunications for more than 25 years, Tadiran Telecom offers enterprises and service providers complete, cost-effective communications solutions that support voice, data, video and advanced networking applications. The company’s award-winning products and solutions include the Coral® family of products that enable universal connectivity, CT-based call centers, broadband access, wireless applications, end-to-end IP networking, and value-added services.
 
Tadiran Telecommunications Ltd. (TTL), Israel's leading telecom manufacturer, is the primary provider of telecom solutions to the business and institutional organizations and a major supplier to Bezeq, Israel's national telecommunications company. On the global market, the company exports its own-developed innovative systems and equipment to over 40 countries worldwide. Corporate headquarters are in Petah Tikva.