If you would be interested doing businesses in Israel, then it goes beyond just understanding the people, culture, religion and education. Those are little nuggets of knowledge that keeps you cognizant of all else around Israel. But as a businessman, what do you really need to know?

2 things.

Firstly, localization needs. Localization is often oversimplified to be a language or culture issue. In reality, localization is anything that can be done to convince a user that a product was created in their locale (usually country or region). Traditionally, big issues like currencies, units of measurement and cultural references need to be taken into account. And only large companies are able to afford localization experts like Amazon.

When it comes to Web2.0 however, it is a whole new game plan altogether. Web2.0 is about communities and sharing, which are difficult to do across boundaries such as languages and culture. However, now that English has become more and more pervasive as the language of the Internet, it has certainly helped bridge groups of people regardless their mother tongue. In addition, the democratization of free open-source software and the accompanying trends towards openness and transparency has been of significant importance to Internet users. Local version adapted by volunteers are immediately made available for use by anyone, especially people who feel they may otherwise have to wait for their favorite site to appear in a local version.

So how has the Israeli industry dealt with this problem?

Firstly, language will never be much of an issue since most Israelis speak English and love the American brands and expressions, Internet-based or otherwise. Secondly, and more importantly, Israelis live on the mentality that local businesses are a distraction. This has led most Israeli startups to aim their business abroad towards United States or United Kingdom. Perhaps this social trend had played well with local users who often used these sites without even realizing they were homemade. Finally, developers in Israel have also been able to benefit from open-source software as much as any developers in Europe.

The other key point to look out for is entrepreneurial obstacles.

Although the Israeli bureaucracy still remains an issue, the government was already improving its practices for startups years ago. Also, it is good to note that investors' attitude towards Israeli companies continues to be strong. And finally, many Israeli startups have benefitted from the lower technological entry barriers and costs resulting from the open-source community, thus signaling for good opportunities for web2.0 business ventures.

Source :CNet