What are the best Israeli hi-tech companies to work for amid COVID-19?

In the new ratings, Facebook dropped from sixth place last year to eighth place, SimilarWeb plummeted from 12th place to 29th place, Taboola dropped from second place to sixth place, and Check Point fell from 17th place to 19th place.

Meanwhile, IronSource jumped from eighth place to third place, Panaya jumped to 17th place from 30th place, Wix rose from ninth place to seventh place and Intel Israel entered the top ten at ninth place from 11th place.

"It is a great honor to be chosen as the best high-tech company to work for. The wellbeing of our employees has always been our prime concern, and this challenging year has forced us to think outside the box to ensure that we provide them with the best conditions," said Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, General Manager at Microsoft Israel R&D in response to the ranking. "We are committed to challenging them professionally, which allows for the development of innovative technologies that impact hundreds of millions of users worldwide, as well as helping them in taking part in social causes that are close to their hearts."

"What makes Microsoft the best company to work for is our employees and our managers, our job is simply to listen to them. The matters on which we focus and the social activities that we promote come from our employees. By listening to them, we have created a wide range of programs aimed to better the community, and that is our added value," added Braverman-Blumenstyk.

Some 16 companies were added to the rankings for the first time this year. This is the sixth year Dun & Bradstreet Israel has published the rankings.

The research also found that software development companies make up the largest individual sector of the hi-tech industry in Israel comprising about 20% of the industry, followed by Internet (16%) and cyber (8%).

Among startups, fintech leads in the sector comprising about 25% of the sector, followed by software development and cyber (both 20%).

The companies are ranked based on research carried out through surveys of both employers and employees concerning the workplace environment, the ability of employees to have an impact, career opportunities and employee satisfaction, among other factors.

"The ranking of the best hi-tech companies to work for, published for the sixth year, was held this year in the shadow of the coronavirus crisis, with one of the most essential parameters we examined being how companies dealt with the crisis, and what impact their steps had on employee satisfaction," said Efrat Segev, VP of Data and Analysis at Dun & Bradstreet.

"The rated companies very quickly realized that the concern for the well-being of the employee at this time shifted from focusing on designed offices with pampering conditions, to focusing on the employee's home environment – addressing physical needs while working from home and supporting employees' families and the new challenges this period provides."

Segev added that the companies' adaptation to the crisis was also reflected in contributions to the community and support for the state's response to the crisis.

 

"There is no doubt that the coronavirus crisis was a defining event in the relationship between companies and their employees, and we have clearly seen that companies' ability to conduct [operations] transparently and provide certainty to their employees at the time helped strengthen employee trust and commitment, which are significant parameters in employee satisfaction and company success," she said.

The coronavirus crisis had a varied impact on the hi-tech industry, with some companies actually profiting through the new demands created by the pandemic.

Wix, for example, recorded a spike in operations and the value of the company hit a record $15.7 million in August. Unlike many other companies, Wix managed to avoid firing any employees or placing any employees on unpaid leave and even continued hiring hundreds of new employees.

In response to the coronavirus crisis, Microsoft worked to ease the transition to work from home for its employees, giving them extra time off, funds for food and office equipment, online courses and a virtual camp for children. Microsoft continued to hire new employees and even acquired the Israeli company Cyber X in May.

IronSource is an advertising technology company that develops technologies for app monetization and distribution.

Soluto is a software development company that helps users learn how to use devices and services.

Playtika is a digital entertainment company that makes gambling and social games. The company provided a summer camp for employees' children and helped employees move equipment from the office to their homes.

Taboola is an advertising company for ads at the bottom of online news articles.

Wix is a platform for designing websites without needing to code.

Intel is allowing its employees to work from home until the end of June 2021. In September, the company launched a new program allowing reimbursement for childcare, assistance for elderly parents and distance learning. Intel is also helping workers obtain office equipment and pay for home Wi-Fi.

Salesforce provides cloud-based software for customer relationship management. This is the first year that the company has been ranked. The company provided employees with a grant to purchase office equipment for their home. They can also receive reimbursement for distance learning and childcare. Employees can also receive six weeks paid leave for sick family members or if their spouses are essential employees in the health system.

BigID is a data privacy and protection company that helps companies protect customer and employee data. This is the first year that the company has been ranked.

Namogoo helps online businesses prevent unauthorized ads from injecting themselves into the browsers of website visitors.

Gong.io helps businesses gain insights on their remote sales teams, customer interactions and transactions. This is the first year the company has been ranked.

HoneyBook is a platform for small businesses for project, invoicing and payments management.

Zebra Medical Vision provides an AI system to help radiologists efficiently analyze medical imaging for normal and abnormal findings.

Forter helps merchants find fraud and abuse.

Fundbox uses analytics, engineering and predictive modeling to help cash flow for small businesses and freelancers. The company offered emotional and technical support to all employees and support to customers who were severely affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Next Insurance is an online insurance provider for small businesses and contractors. This is the first year that the company has been ranked.

Guardicore provides fast and affordable alternatives to firewalls for system security.

Windward works with maritime safety, security, compliance and supply chains.