Speaking at the Jerusalem Post London Conference, Dr. Haim Amir, CEO and founder of the Essence Group, an international technology company which develops cloud-based, end-to-end security and healthcare solutions in Israel, said that Israel’s creativity and hi-tech success is a byproduct of the unstable environment of the Middle East. “The only way to survive when you are outnumbered is to always be one step ahead,” said Dr. Amir. “It is a necessity to stay ahead, and in order to fulfill it, we always had to be innovative.”
Amir, who came to Israel from Morocco with his family as a child, said that the need to be creative and disruptive is an essential survival skill for countries, companies and individuals. Recalling his childhood in a transit camp for new immigrants, he said, “We all had to re-invent ourselves in order to survive.” Amir chose to study technology and distinguished himself in his Naval career, where he developed strategic combat systems, including satellite-based anti-missile defense systems.
For more panels and interviews from The Jerusalem Post London Conference, click here >>
Amir utilized the knowledge and experience he accumulated to found the Essence Group twenty-seven years ago. Today, Essence solutions are deployed in more than four million homes in forty-six countries worldwide. The company utilizes a protective shield of sensors and cloud-based artificial intelligence to provide monitoring systems. One notable example of Essence ingenuity, he said, is the company’s active intruder prevention solution that includes a passive infrared motion detector, a high-definition video camera for intruder verification, two-way voice communication and a proprietary smoke generator that fills a 30-square-meter room in 15 seconds with disorientating yet harmless smoke to force intruders off the premises.
Amir also cited the company’s TeleHealth and TeleCare platforms that offer a seamless health monitoring experience allowing independence for seniors and peace of mind for their loved ones. “My ultimate goal,” said Amir, “is to make security and health care accessible to everyone: individuals, kids, families, and the elderly.”
“Innovation for me is not just to invent a new product or service,” said Amir. “Innovation means creating a new concept.” In that vein, Amir informed conference attendees of the success of an Essence program conducted in Israel to reduce hospitalization rates, with its remote patient monitoring solution that enables remote supervision of elderly and chronic patients at home.
Amir concluded his remarks by stating that all of Essence’s products are manufactured in Israel by a team of 1,000 employees, including one hundred and fifty with special needs, in the southern town of Ofakim.