Yesterday’s meeting of the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum turned out to be a fascinating event, evaluating the role of CISCO in the Israeli economy.

For dummies like me, what CISCO has been doing for the past three decades is helping to ensure that our internet services go faster. Israel, as a start up nation, has been at the forefront of the communications and high tech revolution in this period. Ergo, Cisco opened up an office in Israel back in 1995.

The two speakers gave an overview of CISCO – how it expands via natural growth, aquisition and partnerships – and then why it purchased for US$5 billion NDS, a Jerusalem-based former start up. Effectively, the NDS story was a case study for why CISCO is so ‘into’ the Israeli market. The facts make for fascinating reading.

Of CISCO’s 116 acquisitions over the decades, 11 have been in Israel. When the company purchased Intucell earlier this year, CISCO crossed the 2,000 employee mark in the Holy Land. It has made 21 additional investments and holds positions in two local VCs, including Sequoia Capital. By the end of 2013, it will embark on two further VC projects and have opened a center of excellence for cyber security.

The match with NDS – now formerly part of CISCO – came about through a market need, clear symmetry and a leading technology, developed via chutzpah and former military skills. Here is the interesting thing: NDS provides encryption and security technologies, which puts TV into your homes. Summing up their various product lines, NDS services can be found in about 450 million homes around the globe. Stunning.

It is difficult for me to consider to find a comparable technology, although I did recall Trusteer, another former Israeli start up that was purchased earlier this month by IBM for a sum that may approach the US$1 billion level. “Seven of the top 10 US banks and nine of the top 10 UK banks use Trusteer’s solutions to help secure customer accounts against financial fraud and cyber attacks.” That is a lot of people and financial wealth that are benefitting from Israeli brain power.

Where CISCO will move on to in the Israeli economy, I am not sure. However, just look what they have attained through NDS, a company where for religious reasons many of the employees do not even possess a television !