Sapiens International Corporation
Encyclopedia
Sapiens International Corporation is a publicly traded company, headquartered in Israel
, that develops computer software solutions for the insurance industry. Its shares are traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market
and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
.
during the 1960s to develop a novel object-oriented
application generator for use with mainframe computer
s. One of the driving forces behind the initiative was Tsvi Misinai
, a graduate of the Technion who in 1972 went on to spearhead the project. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, in large part owing to rapidly fluctuating inflation rates in Israel and the corresponding demand for a computer platform able to keep up with constant pricing shifts, the Weizmann team, now a company calling itself AAA–Advanced Information Systems, began marketing DB1 to domestic insurance firms. Subsequently, the company's first overseas client appeared in the form of a London-based international infrastructure firm in 1986. That same year, joined by entrepreneurs Ron Zuckerman and Shaul Shani, the company severed itself from the Weizmann Institute and was incorporated
under its new name—Sapiens.
By 1990, Sapiens had established a client base encompassing Israel, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, Germany, and Venezuela. In 1990 Sapiens registered as a public limited liability company
in the Netherlands Antilles
under the name Sapiens International Corporation N.V., and in 1992 shares of Sapiens began trading on the NASDAQ exchange. The year 1993 is considered the company's zenith, with 900 workers employed at 33 branches around the world and a market cap of US$340 million. As of September 2011, the company employs 361 workers and has a market cap of US$71 million.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, that develops computer software solutions for the insurance industry. Its shares are traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market
NASDAQ Capital Market
Originally called the NASDAQ Small Cap Market, NASDAQ announced a name change to the NASDAQ Capital Market on September 27, 2005.The NASDAQ Capital Market exists for securities of smaller, less-capitalized companies that do not qualify for inclusion in the Nasdaq National Market....
and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in Tel Aviv is Israel's only stock exchange.The TASE is the only public market for trading securities in Israel. It plays a major role in the Israeli economy....
.
History
Sapiens grew out of an initiative, dubbed DB1, undertaken by a group of scientists from the Weizmann Institute of ScienceWeizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science , known as Machon Weizmann, is a university and research institute in Rehovot, Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and post-graduate studies in the sciences....
during the 1960s to develop a novel object-oriented
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
application generator for use with mainframe computer
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
s. One of the driving forces behind the initiative was Tsvi Misinai
Tsvi Misinai
Tsvi Jekhorin Misinai is an Israeli researcher, author, historian, computer scientist and entrepreneur. A former pioneer of the Israeli software industry, he now spends most of his time researching and documenting the common Hebrew roots shared by world Jewry and the Palestinians .-Biography:Tsvi...
, a graduate of the Technion who in 1972 went on to spearhead the project. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, in large part owing to rapidly fluctuating inflation rates in Israel and the corresponding demand for a computer platform able to keep up with constant pricing shifts, the Weizmann team, now a company calling itself AAA–Advanced Information Systems, began marketing DB1 to domestic insurance firms. Subsequently, the company's first overseas client appeared in the form of a London-based international infrastructure firm in 1986. That same year, joined by entrepreneurs Ron Zuckerman and Shaul Shani, the company severed itself from the Weizmann Institute and was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
under its new name—Sapiens.
By 1990, Sapiens had established a client base encompassing Israel, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, Germany, and Venezuela. In 1990 Sapiens registered as a public limited liability company
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
in the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
under the name Sapiens International Corporation N.V., and in 1992 shares of Sapiens began trading on the NASDAQ exchange. The year 1993 is considered the company's zenith, with 900 workers employed at 33 branches around the world and a market cap of US$340 million. As of September 2011, the company employs 361 workers and has a market cap of US$71 million.
Products
- RapidSure Property and Casualty Suite
- Sapiens INSIGHT for Life and Pensions
- Sapiens INSIGHT Reinsurance
- SapiensPro
See also
- Del YocamDel YocamDelbert W. Yocam is an American technology executive. Yocam is a former chairman and CEO of Borland, former president, COO & director of Tektronix and a former Apple Computer executive. At Apple, during the 1980s, Yocam ran the Apple II group and later became Apple's first chief operating officer...
- TA BlueTech-50 IndexTA BlueTech-50 IndexThe TA BlueTech-50 Index is a stock market index of the 50 most highly capitalised Information technology and Biotechnology companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange...
- List of Israeli companies quoted on the Nasdaq