Comverse Technology

File:Comverse Technology building in Tel Aviv.jpg

Comverse Technology had multiple subsidiaries, many of which are still in business. Their activities at the time of their belonging to Comverse Technology were:

• Comverse, also known as Comverse Network Systems or Comverse CNS, was a provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management. Comverse's solutions supported flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and could run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS, and converged network environments. Comverse's customer base spanned more than 130 countries and covered over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers.{{cite press release| url=http://www.ossnewsreview.com/telecom-oss/frost-and-sullivan-choose-comverse-as-telecom-bss-vendor-of-the-year/| title=Frost and Sullivan Choose Comverse as Telecom BSS Vendor of the Year| publisher=Frost and Sullivan| date=15 June 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101051704/http://www.ossnewsreview.com/telecom-oss/frost-and-sullivan-choose-comverse-as-telecom-bss-vendor-of-the-year/| archive-date=1 January 2014}}{{Non-primary source needed|date=August 2020}} It typically provided some 70 percent of Comverse Technology's overall revenue. Comverse had 100 local offices in 40 countries, with its corporate headquarters located in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in the United States.
• Verint Systems (which, from 1999 to 2002, was known as Comverse Infosys{{cite press release | url=http://verint.com/corporate/releases_view.cfm?article_level1_category_id=7&article_level1_id=282&pageno=3&year=2002 | title=Comverse Infosys Changes Name to Verint Systems Inc. | publisher=Comverse Technology | date=1 February 2002 | access-date=20 February 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612082912/http://verint.com/corporate/releases_view.cfm?article_level1_category_id=7&article_level1_id=282&pageno=3&year=2002 | archive-date=12 June 2011 | url-status=dead }}) was a provider of solutions for analysis of intercepted communications, digital video-focused security and surveillance, and analytics and business intelligence for the enterprise.Longueuil, Wireless Messaging Demystified, p. 248. Their products were aimed at enabling government and enterprises to make sense of the vast information they collected to meet performance and security goals. Verint solutions were used by more than 10,000 organizations in 150 countries.{{cite news| title=Verint Systems Inc. | publisher= Computer Business Review }} Verint was headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices worldwide and 2500 employees around the globe. By 2011, Verint was 52 percent owned by Comverse Technology.
• Ulticom provided signaling solutions for wireless, wireline, and Internet communications. Ulticom's products were used by telecommunication equipment and service providers worldwide to deploy mobility, location, payment, switching, and messaging services. Ulticom was headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Comverse acquired Ulticom in 1996 and sold it in 2010.{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/comverse-unloads-ulticom-to-platinum-equity-for-90m-1.319191 | title=Comverse unloads Ulticom to Platinum Equity for $90m | author=Nir Zalik | newspaper=Haaretz | date=10 October 2010}}
• Startel sold integrated voice, data and networking solutions for use in call centers worldwide. It was originally an independent company that was acquired by Comverse Technology in 1992.{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0DD1F30F935A35750C0A964958260 | title=Company News | newspaper=The New York Times | date=6 March 1992}} Startel was sold to financier Bill Robertshaw in the late 2000s and then became employee-owned in 2011.{{cite news | url=https://www.answerstat.com/news/startel-now-employee-owned/ | title=Startel Now Employee-Owned | author-first=Peter | author-last=Dehaan | publisher=AnswerStat | date=November 8, 2011 }}
• Starhome provided roaming services for mobile network operators. The Starhome portfolio included international roaming services and core network solutions across various technologies, including intelligent networks and next-generation networks. It was fully owned by Comverse Technology until being sold to Fortissimo Capital in 2012 for $54 million.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000820482&fid=1725 | title=Verint completes separation from Comverse | author=Ron Steinblatt | newspaper=Globes | date=7 February 2013}}
• ComSor was a venture capital operation, created as a subsidiary in partnership with Soros Fund Management, that invested in start-up companies directly and was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.{{cite press release | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-65276544.html | title=Comverse Subsidiary Comsor Invests $10 Mln in Orsus Solutions Wireless Internet Integration Company | publisher=Business Wire | date= 18 September 2000}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Headline captured in {{cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2000-09-18/sixth-business-wire-recap-for-mon-09-18 | title=SIXTH Business Wire recap for Mon (09/18); | publisher=Bloomberg | date=September 18, 2000 | access-date=September 2, 2023}}

The company's origins date to 1982 (or 1983, sources differ), when three Israelis, aspiring investment banker Jacob "Kobi" Alexander of Shearson Loeb Rhoades, engineer Boaz Misholi, and Alexander brother-in-law and Columbia University computer science professor Yechiam Yemini, got together and founded an Israeli start-up company, Efrat Future Technologies Ltd.Breznitz, Innovation and the State, p. 220.{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/story-of-a-sinking-ship-1.308074 | title=Story of a sinking ship | author=Guy Grimland | newspaper=Haaretz | date=15 August 2010}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aex1iZRUBHnI&refer=europe | title=Kobi Alexander, Once Wooed by World Leaders, Now Chased by FBI | author=Jonathan Ferziger | publisher=Bloomberg News | date=31 August 2006}}{{cite web | url=https://www.cs.columbia.edu/~yemini/ | title=Yechiam Yemini (YY) is a Professor of computer science at Columbia University | publisher=Columbia University | access-date=19 February 2011}} In a meeting in New York, Misholi had the idea of building a business around centralized hardware systems to support voice and fax messaging and selling them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises, who could then resell the voice and fax services to their customers. The three quickly returned to Israel and started the company, with the goal of securing Israeli government grants to fund the research and development work.

The early years of the company were difficult; in 1984, they founded Comverse in the United States, which became the parent company of Efrat. The name "Comverse" was chosen as a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21options.html?pagewanted=all | title=At Comverse, Many Smart Business Moves and Maybe a Bad One | author=Julie Creswell | newspaper=The New York Times | date=21 August 2006}}

In 1986 Comverse went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market with a $20 million valuation; the company used the money so gained as its final round of funding. The three founders had trouble working with each other, and Yemini divorced Alexander's sister; in 1987, Alexander was left with sole control of the company after the other two pulled out. The company was a penny stock on the edge of collapse.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/business/10options.html?pagewanted=all | title=3 at Comverse Charged in Stock Options Case | author=Julie Creswell | newspaper=The New York Times | date=10 August 2006}}

File:Kobi Alexander.JPG

Under his lead, Alexander was credited with turning around Comverse's fortunes. In 1989, the Ascom Group made a $6 million direct investment in the company.{{cite news | title=Ledger | newspaper=Newsday | date=18 August 1989 | page=53}} In 1990, Comverse won a potentially $10 million contract, its largest yet, to deliver computers running voicemail and fax applications on West German cellular networks, beating out far larger corporations in the process.{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/6012898.html?dids=6012898:6012898&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629031605/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/6012898.html?dids=6012898:6012898&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | title=Big Catch for Small Fry | author=James Bernstein | newspaper=Newsday | date=18 May 1990 | page=47 | format=fee required}} Deutsche Telekom became one of the company's biggest early customers. By 1991, the company had annual sales of $17 million and was selling a combined voice and fax mailbox system.{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2061FF73D5B0C718DDDAF0894D9494D81 | title=Any Messages? Now Get Them All | author=Andrew Pollack | newspaper=The New York Times | date=12 June 1991}} Many of its early successes came from avoiding the huge telecommunications companies in the U.S. and instead focusing on selling to small- and medium-sized companies in the wireless market in Europe. The company also sought a variety of other markets, including developing countries such as Mexico and China for its Trilogue virtual telephone service.{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10613FD3B540C7A8DDDAB0894DA494D81 | title=Getting a Phone's Benefits Without Owning One | author=Andrew Pollack | newspaper=The New York Times | date=19 February 1992}}{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1993/05/17/77847/index.htm | title=Companies to Watch | author=John Labate | magazine=Fortune | date=17 May 1993}} Gradually its product emphasis shifted more from hardware to software.

While headquartered in the U.S., nearly all its manufacturing was done in Israel, where it was able to substantially benefit from government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms and industries by the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.Breznitz, Innovation and the State, p. 65. Many other Israeli companies were built by the same model, including another top software company, Mercury Interactive.Breznitz, Innovation and the State, pp. 65, 68. During the 1990s, Comverse received at least 69 research and development grants from the OCS program.

In 1993, the company reported a 341 percent rise in profits{{cite news | title=Comverse Technologies Reports 341% Rise in Profits | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | author=Joshua Shuman | date=18 May 1993 | page=8}} on revenues in the $64 million range and was named a "Company to Watch" by Fortune magazine. However its stock plunged for a while in 1994 after a disappointing earnings report.{{cite news | title=Dow skids 63.33 to drop below 3700 | author=Donna Rosato | date=30 March 1994 | page=3B | newspaper=USA Today }}

By 1995, Comverse was best known for its AudioDisk product, which was sold to overseas clients and allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from wiretaps.{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20470693.html?dids=20470693:20470693&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629011536/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20470693.html?dids=20470693:20470693&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | title=Security Company's Stock Rises | agency=Dow Jones News Service | newspaper=Newsday | page=A33 | format=fee required | date=25 April 1995}}{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20150311.html?dids=20150311:20150311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629011608/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20150311.html?dids=20150311:20150311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | title=Comverse Buys a Software Company | author=Michael Unger | newspaper=Newsday | date=31 August 1995 | page=A55 | format=fee required}} Half the company's revenues at that point were from AudioDisk, and market analysts were recommending Comverse's stock.

Comverse became a market leader in voice messaging software and boomed during the late 1990s with the surge in mobile phone use. Much of its market focus was on wireless operators and overseas companies, and it gained a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market. The growth coincided with SMS text messages becoming popular; the first big application for SMS was as a notification mechanism to tell a wireless subscriber that voicemail were stored in a voicemail box. Comverse expanded this application into a full-blown short message service center (SMSC), which receives, buffers, processes, and dispatches all SMS messages throughout a mobile network. Comverse branded and productised this as the Intelligent Short Message Service Center, or ISMSC. Typical of telecomm software, it ran on Unix-based platforms, such as UnixWare and later Linux.{{cite web | url=http://www.sco.com/company/success/story.html?ID=94 | title=Los Angeles (California) County | publisher=The SCO Group | access-date=19 February 2011}} Comverse's ISMSC found success as a lower-price solution for lower-traffic networks, where it competed with Logica's Telepath solution. Other companies in the SMSC space included CMG and Openwave.Longueuil, Wireless Messaging Demystified, p. 113. ISMSC found considerable market penetration, exemplified by all six of Hong Kong's wireless carriers using it.

Comverse also became a participant in forming international wireless standards, such as in 2001 for the Speech Application Language Tags (SALT) markup language for XML to add voice capabilities to web-based applications.Longueuil, Wireless Messaging Demystified, pp. 297–298.{{cite press release | url=http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/prod_101501.html | title=Cisco, Comverse, Intel, Microsoft, Philips and SpeechWorks Found Speech Application Language Tags Forum to Develop New Standard For Multimodal and Telephony-Enabled Applications and Services | publisher=Cisco | date=15 October 2001 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712050154/http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/prod_101501.html | archive-date=12 July 2012}} Additional industry standards groups in which Comverse has been active include the Open Mobile Alliance and TM Forum.{{cite press release | url=http://business-video.tmcnet.com/news/2008/11/11/3778629.htm | title=Comverse spearheads drive for new OMA industry standard for off-deck ringback tone market | publisher=Business Video News | date=11 November 2008}}{{cite web | url=http://www.tmforum.org/ComverseONEsStandardsDriven/10611/home.html | title=Comverse ONE's Standards-Driven Implementation Methodology Lowering Deployment Cost & Risk | publisher=TM Forum | access-date=29 May 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415235713/http://www.tmforum.org/ComverseONEsStandardsDriven/10611/home.html | archive-date=15 April 2013}}

File:Comverse Wakefield Building.jpg

In addition to growing organically, Comverse Technology began acquiring other companies in both Israel and the U.S. It acquired Dale, Gesek, McWilliams, & Sheridan, later known as DGM&S Telecom, in 1996 and renamed it Ulticom in 1999.{{cite web|url=http://www.snl.com/irweblinkx/faq.aspx?iid=4242008 |title=Investor Relations: Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Ulticom |access-date=25 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924131737/http://www.snl.com/irweblinkx/faq.aspx?iid=4242008 |archive-date=24 September 2010 }} Comverse Technology acquired one of its key rivals, Boston Technology, for $843 million in stock in 1997.{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10711FB395A0C718EDDA10894DF494D81 | title=In Phone Gear Consolidation, Comverse Will Acquire Boston | author=Seth Schiesel | newspaper=The New York Times | date=22 August 1997}} The acquisition gave Comverse entree into the large U.S. telecommunications market and meant Comverse would be supplying voice messaging systems to 12 of the world's top 20 carriers, and left it the third-largest supplier after Lucent and Northern Telecom. In 1999, as it saw record earnings, Comverse formed two wholly owned subsidiaries, Comverse Network Systems and Comverse Infosys, representing the telecommunications services platforms and products and the digital monitoring and recording products, respectively.{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/42086235.html?dids=42086235:42086235&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | title=Comverse Technology Boasts Surge in Profits | author=Mark Harrington | agency=Dow Jones News Service | newspaper=Newsday | date=3 June 1999 | page=A52 | format=fee required | access-date=5 July 2017 | archive-date=5 November 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105191145/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/42086235.html?dids=42086235:42086235&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead }}

By 2000, its revenues were $1.2 billion and it had global operations. It continued to aggressively acquire small companies to fill out its technologies, as exemplified by the purchase of Loronix, Gaya Software, and Exalink, all within a 30-day period in 2000.{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/56118541.html?dids=56118541:56118541&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107065926/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/56118541.html?dids=56118541:56118541&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 November 2012 | title=Comverse Adds to Wireless Assets | agency=Bloomberg News | newspaper=Newsday | date=6 July 2000 | page=A53 | format=fee required}} The company's stock price rose from around $10 in late 1998 to over $120 in early 2001. The company was able to raise money several times on Nasdaq, including once for its Ulticom subsidiary and once (at a valuation of $600 million) shortly before the Dot-com bubble burst.

Comverse was one of the most prominent success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry, with both Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post referring to it as a flagship of that industry.{{cite news | url=http://www.economist.com/node/5149411?story_id=5149411&tranMode=none | title=Punching above its weight | magazine=The Economist | date=10 November 2005}}{{cite news | url=http://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=184869 | title=Is Israel's hi-tech flagship sinking? | author=Sharon Wrobel | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | date=15 August 2010}} As CEO, Alexander was sought out for meetings in Tel Aviv by world leaders such as Chinese President Jiang Zemin. He became known, as Bloomberg News later stated, as "the wizard of Israel's technology boom"; his oft-stated goal was for Comverse to do for Israel what Nokia had done for Finland. Comverse was one of the largest employers of software engineers in Israel and its stock was widely held among the Israeli investing public; as a consequence, the successes and failures of Comverse were always followed closely in the country's financial press. (Amdocs and Mercury Interactive were two other prominent Israeli companies in the enterprise software sector that were also closely followed.Commander, The Software Industry in Emerging Markets, p. 143.)

The company was also quintessentially Israeli in how it was run, with Comverse CEO Ze'ev Bregman in particular favoring a loose, relaxed system in which he knew all the employees and lines of management reporting were frequently bypassed.{{cite news | url=http://www.ivc-online.com/ivcWeeklyItem.asp?articleID=9740 | title=Comverse employees: Home and away | author=Shlomit Lan | newspaper=Globes | date=17 September 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713070519/http://www.ivc-online.com/ivcWeeklyItem.asp?articleID=9740 | archive-date=13 July 2011}} When Comverse Technology joined the S&P 500 index in 1999, it was the first Israeli-associated company ever to do so.{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/45908148.html?dids=45908148:45908148&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629032730/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/45908148.html?dids=45908148:45908148&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | title=Comverse joins the S&P 500 magic circle | author=Dan Gerstenfeld | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | date=27 October 1999 | page=12 | format=fee required}} It set the same mark when it joined the NASDAQ-100 index.Commander, The Software Industry in Emerging Markets, p. 144.

The early 2000s recession led to some struggles for Comverse Technology, with the global economic downturn leading to publicly announced profit warnings and a plunge in the stock price in July 2001.{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/75533054.html?dids=75533054:75533054&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629062755/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/75533054.html?dids=75533054:75533054&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | title=What happened to Israel's hi-tech flagship? | author=Jessica Steinberg | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | date=19 July 2001 | page=15 | format=fee required}} Over 3,000 jobs were cut during the period as part of several restructuring efforts.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=490501 | title=Comverse lays off 450 in Israel, 750 worldwide | quote=750 jobs | date= 14 May 2001 | newspaper=Globes | author=Yanay Alfassy}}{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=516950 | title=Comverse to fire 500 employees - 10% of subsidiaries' staff | quote=500 jobs | newspaper=Globes | date=26 August 2001 | author=Hadass Geyfman}}{{cite news | url=http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,11029819,00.htm | title=Israeli company Comverse is to announce global layoffs, likely to leave the UK office | quote=~940 jobs | date=7 December 2001 | author=Ben King | publisher=Silicon.com | access-date=27 January 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805010047/http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,11029819,00.htm | archive-date=5 August 2009 | url-status=dead}}{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E3DA1338F93BA15754C0A9649C8B63 | title=Comverse Is Laying Off A Fifth of Its Work Force | quote=1200 jobs | date= 28 July 2002 | newspaper=The New York Times | author=Warren Strugatch}}{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-88554082.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105143718/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-88554082.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2012-11-05 | title=Comverse Technologies fired 70 employees from its messaging unit | quote=70 jobs | date=16 December 2003 | author=Zev Stub | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | format=fee required}}

The company still made some acquisitions, such as buying the instant messaging specialist Odigo for $20 million in 2002, after having previously purchased a 12 percent stake in it in 2001.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=586746 | title=Comverse buys Odigo at $20m | newspaper=Globes | date=20 May 2002}}{{cite news | url=http://news.cnet.com/Telecom-firm-buys-Odigo/2110-1023_3-919688.html | title=Telecom firm buys Odigo | author=Gwendolyn Mariano | publisher=CNET News | date=21 May 2002}}

The image of Comverse Technology as Israel's blue-chip hi-tech stock suffered, and led to a slide in several other large Israeli technology firms. Comverse's management was criticized by analysts for having issued over-optimistic forecasts, although many other Israeli firms in the industry did even worse or failed completely during this period.Commander, The Software Industry in Emerging Markets, pp. 136, 142, 144.

In addition, the European market for mobile voicemail management was already saturated by 2002 and the prepaid wireless market was in decline. In 2002, Comverse Infosys changed its name to Verint,{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=559143 | title=Comverse Infosys changes name to Verint Systems | agency=Israel's Business Arena | newspaper=Globes | date=3 February 2002}} partly to separate its more thriving business from Comverse's struggles,{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/118108330.html?dids=118108330:118108330&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629032947/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/118108330.html?dids=118108330:118108330&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | title=Verint to raise $75m. in Nasdaq IPO | author=Sharon Berger | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | date=8 February 2002 | page=10A}} and staged a modestly successful IPO of a minority portion of its stock.{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-53100370.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105163045/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-53100370.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=5 November 2012 | title=Verint share price falls 15% after IPO | author=Sharon Berger | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | date=20 May 2002 | format=fee required}} By 2002, Comverse Technology had more than 5,000 employees across nearly 40 countries; due to the partial spinoffs and economic difficulties, revenues were down to $735 million.

In December 2001, Fox News reported that wiretapping equipment provided by Comverse Infosys to the U.S. government for electronic eavesdropping may have been vulnerable, as these systems allegedly had a back door through which the wiretaps could be intercepted by unauthorized parties.{{cite news | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ihsqz_KgK4 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211116/1ihsqz_KgK4| archive-date=2021-11-16 | url-status=live| title=Israeli arrests Wiretapping Comverse Infosys, Amdocs| publisher=Fox News | format=YouTube video |date=December 2001}}{{cbignore}} Fox News reporter Carl Cameron said there was no reason to believe the Israeli government was implicated, but that "a classified top-secret investigation is underway". A March 2002 story by Le Monde recapped the Fox report and concluded: "Comverse is suspected of having introduced into its systems of the 'catch gates' in order to 'intercept, record and store' these wire-taps. This hardware would render the 'listener' himself 'listened to'."{{cite news | url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2002/03/05/un-reseau-d-espionnage-israelien-a-ete-demantele-aux-etats-unis_265330_1819218.html| title=Un réseau d'espionnage israélien a été démantelé aux Etats-Unis |trans-title=An Israeli spy network was dismantled in the U.S. | newspaper=Le Monde | date=6 March 2002 | language=fr | format=fee required}} Fox News did not pursue the allegations, and in the years since, there have been no legal or commercial actions of any type taken against Comverse by the FBI or any other branch of the US Government related to data access and security issues. While no real evidence has been presented against Comverse or Verint, the allegations have become a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists.{{cite web | url=http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1290021 | title=NSA Scandal (Pt. 2): Verint – NSA's Foreign Partner | publisher=Democratic Underground | date=26 May 2006}}

By 2005, the company had $959 million in sales and employed over 5,000 people, of whom about half were located in Israel. That country held most of the research and development workers, many of whom occupied the company's seven buildings on HaBarzel in the Ramat HaHayal district of Tel Aviv, while business and marketing operations were stationed in the company's Woodbury, New York headquarters.

File:Comverse Technology building in Tel Aviv side view.jpg

In 2006, Comverse Technology was involved in an options backdating scandal. In May of that year, company founder and CEO Jacob Alexander stepped down from his position. Alexander, finance chief David Kreinberg, and former senior general counsel William Sorin (both of whom had also stepped down) were charged in July 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all related to alleged options backdating or other actions related to stock options between 1998 and 2006. The accusations against the three included the backdating of options to when Comverse stock had been trading at low prices, the use of fake names of option holders, and the creation of secret funds in which to hold the illicit gains. The SEC also filed civil charges against the three, for filing false annual and quarterly financial reports and proxy statements from 1991 to 2005.

By then, Alexander had fled the country and was classified a wanted fugitive in August 2006 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. On 27 September 2006, he was arrested in Namibia after hiding in Windhoek with his family, where he had bought a house at a country club. If extradited to the US and convicted, he faced 25 years in prison.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5386276.stm | title=Fugitive US tycoon held in Africa | publisher=BBC News | date=27 September 2006}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aJHBHVHTD2JE&refer=news | title=Former Comverse Chief Alexander Arrested in Namibia | edition=Update 8 | publisher= Bloomberg News | author=Allan Dodds Frank |author2= Bob Van Voris | date= 27 September 2006}}

He was released on bail and engaged in a long battle to avoid extradition to the US{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-23-la-fi-comverse-alexander-20101123-story.html | title=Comverse ex-chief Alexander to pay $53.6 million | agency=Bloomberg News | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=23 November 2010}} (in Namibia neither money laundering nor options backdating is a crime). Upon leaving the US he had transferred some $64 million to Israel, with most of that ending up in Namibia; another $50 million was blocked by the US government, which overall sought the forfeiture of $138 million of Alexander's assets.Sarna and Malik, History of Greed, p. 327. In April 2010, Alexander won a victory in the Supreme Court of Namibia that allowed him to continue to live and work there until the extradition request was ruled upon. In November 2010, Alexander agreed to pay the U.S. government $53.6 million to settle the SEC's case against him, with those monies being targeted to settle assorted lawsuits against Comverse by shareholders.

Of the other two executives, William Sorin pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2007.{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704608504576208723752747468?mod=googlenews_wsj | title=Ex-Comverse Finance Chief Sentenced to Time Served | author=Bray, Chad | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | date=18 March 2011}} David Kreinberg cooperated with prosecutors, repaid $2.4 million to the SEC, and in 2011 was sentenced to the "time served" of the minimal period he had originally been in custody. While over a hundred companies were investigated or charged with options backdating, Comverse was one of the most visible and was labeled by a pair of financial writers a "poster child for stock option fraud."Sarna and Malik, History of Greed, p. 328.

Recovery from the scandal was difficult. The three charged executives, who had stayed on as consultants, were fired without severance pay, and the company said it would pursue legal action against them.{{cite news | url=http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3627171 | title=Comverse Fires Former Execs Over Options Scandal | date= 18 August 2006 | publisher=Internetnews.com | author=Clint Boulton}} The board of directors was expanded from five to ten, with all new ones being Americans rather than Israelis. A new CEO, Andre Dahan, came on board in April 2007 but the ongoing management crisis prevented the company from engaging in new innovation or entering new business areas. Despite the 2006-2007 economic climate being one of growth, layoffs occurred in mid-2007.{{cite news | url=http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/06/12/2708029.htm | title=Comverse reports it will lay off 6% of workforce | quote=360 jobs | date= 12 June 2007 | publisher=Israel Business Arena via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge}}{{cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzcomv0820-story,0,5961563.story | title=Comverse is laying off hundreds of workers | quote=~x00 jobs | date= 21 August 2007 | newspaper=Newsday | author=Daniel Wagner}} Research analysts began speculating that the company might break up.

Because of the accounting issues from the option backdating, Comverse Technology was unable to file full or timely financial reports with the SEC. Its stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market on 1 February 2007,{{cite news | url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-comverse-sale-idUKN1034310720070710 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113060458/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-comverse-sale-idUKN1034310720070710 | url-status=dead | archive-date=13 January 2016 | title=Comverse Technology up for sale: report | author=Jim Finkle | work=Reuters| date=10 July 2007}} and removed from the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 at the same time. The stock then traded on the Pink Sheets. In 2009, the SEC settled its case with Comverse Technology; the company would not be subject to penalty fines over the backdating matter, but would accept a permanent injunction against itself regarding any future violations of law regarding publicly traded companies. A settlement in a similar case against Ulticom was also reached. The failure to file timely financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock registration revoked; a process deciding this, involving the SEC and an Administrative Law Judge, was still active of 2011.{{cite web | url=http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/displayfilinginfo.aspx?FilingID=7969225-138552-253474&type=sect&dcn=0001193125-11-154883 | title=Comverse Technology, Inc.: Form 10-K | publisher=EDGAR Online | date=31 May 2011}}

The 2008 financial crisis caused further difficulties for Comverse Technology, with new layoffs occurring in October 2008,{{cite news | url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225036826851&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull | title=Amdocs lays off 200 workers in Israel | quote=150 jobs | date=28 October 2008 | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | author=Sharon Wrobel }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} March 2009,{{cite news | url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3680955,00.html | title=Comverse to fire hundreds – many in Israel | quote=~400-500 jobs | date=4 March 2009 | agency=Calcalist | publisher=Ynetnews | author=Golan Hazani}} and August 2009.{{cite news | url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3762393,00.html | title=Comverse considers firing 10% of workforce | quote=~400 jobs| date=16 August 2009 | publisher=Ynetnews | author=Itai Smuskowitz}} The company reportedly lost considerable money in 2009,{{cite news | url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3838577,00.html | title=Comverse to fire 500 employees globally in February | quote=500 jobs | author=Assaf Gilad | agency=Calcalist | publisher=Ynetnews | date=24 January 2010}} and the moves were typical of other hi-tech companies caught in the bad economic environment. Some of Comverse's products were still viewed highly; a Yankee Group survey ranked them first in the world in their type of billing services, and they were the worldwide market-share leaders in providing multimedia message service centers to wireless carriers.{{cite news | url=http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=451156 | title=Comverse ranks first among multimedia messaging suppliers for carriers | publisher=ABI Research | date=30 November 2009 | format=fee required}} However, the rise in popularity of smartphones and of sending e-mail eroded the carrier market for some of Comverse's products and services. By 2009, the company's upper management was now largely American rather than Israeli, Dahan was under internal criticism, and there were frequent clashes regarding company culture.

In early 2010, Comverse Technology planned to release an annual report with full financial statements and return to being fully listed on Nasdaq, but anticipated more layoffs.

One piece of positive news in July 2010 was an $80 million investment by well-known entrepreneur George Soros.

However, the financial reports were not published and a public announcement was made in August 2010 that the company was short on cash and planning more layoffs. A precipitous drop of the stock price caused the market valuation of the company to fall below $1 billion, and the continued failure to file financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock being delisted completely.{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/comverse-plummets-32-on-mass-layoff-announcement-1.308069 | title=Comverse plummets 32% on mass layoff announcement | quote=500 jobs| date= 15 August 2010 | newspaper=Haaretz | author=Nir Zalik}} CEO Dahan said simply, "These are challenging times."

By August 2010, analysts were stating that Comverse Technology might have to break up by selling off its subsidiaries and spin off Comverse's own business units. Running low on cash, Comverse Technology engaged Goldman Sachs to explore such possibilities, with several large, well-known technology companies potentially interested in Comverse and some private equity firms possibly interested in Verint.{{cite news | url=http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2010/09/30/buyers-eye-comverse-assets-including-verint-shares-spike/ | title=Buyers Eye Comverse Assets, Including Verint; Shares Spike | author=Eric Savitz | newspaper=Barron's | date=30 September 2010}}

The company had some 4,000 employees, and continued having about half of them employed in Israel and most of the rest in the US and France. The continuing financial reporting problems had cost the company some $500 million in accountants' fees and related costs since 2006 and was the largest drain on its cash position.

The fact that senior management awarded itself bonuses in a time of various rounds of layoffs left employees feeling outraged.{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/comverse-workers-outraged-about-executive-bonuses-1.310452 | title=Comverse workers outraged about executive bonuses | date=27 August 2010 | newspaper=Haaretz | author=Guy Grimland}} Comverse's restructuring also affected its 2006-acquired NetCentrex business unit in France, with layoffs or a shutdown possible.{{cite news | publisher=Light Reading Europe | url=http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=198071 | title= Au Revoir, NetCentrex? | date=6 October 2010 | author=Ray Le Maistre}} In October 2010, Comverse Technology agreed to sell its two-thirds ownership of its Ulticom subsidiary to a U.S. private equity firm for $90 million; the deal closed in December 2010. The company also sold part of its holdings in Verint, netting $80 million, and sold for $27 million land in the hi-tech area of Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv, where it had been planning to build a new headquarters.

In October 2010, Comverse Technology finally published its restated financial reports for fiscal years 2005 through 2008.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000591783&fid=1725 | title=Comverse reports billion dollar loss in three years | author=Adi Ben-Israel | author2= Doron Avigad | date=5 October 2010 | newspaper=Globes}} (The company's fiscal year N ran from February of year N to January of N+1.) They revealed that the company lost about $1 billion during that period. In February 2011, the company announced that due to this effort, its report for fiscal 2009 would be delayed, and also that it was restructuring into four independent business units and focusing much of its emphasis on billing systems for mobile carriers.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000621442&fid=1725 | title=Comverse lays off 200, with more cuts ahead | quote=200+ jobs | date=7 February 2011 | newspaper=Globes | author=Ron Steinblatt}} Layoffs also resumed, with more possibly in the offing.{{cite news | url=http://www.newsru.co.il/finance/06jan2011/comverse302.html | title=Comverse намерен уволить 800 сотрудников исследовательского центра в Израиле |trans-title=Comverse intends to lay off 800 employees Research Center in Israel | quote=800 jobs | date=6 January 2011 | publisher=NEWSru.co.il}}

In March 2011, revenues for fiscal 2009 were announced at $1.58 billion, down from $1.72 billion two years previously, with an overall loss of $273.3 million. Dahan stepped down as CEO. During his tenure, Comverse Technology stock fell 68 percent in price and 2,000–2,500 employees were laid off; he made more than $20 million during that time and gained payments of some $5 million upon his departure. Overall, his stint as leader of the company was not regarded positively by some in the Israeli business press.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000627835&fid=4111 | title=Fail grade for Dahan at Comverse | author=Steinblatt, Ron | newspaper=Globes | date=3 March 2011 }}

The new CEO was Charles Burdick, who had been non-executive chairman of the company.{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-02/comverse-ceo-dahan-departs-after-restatements-falling-revenue.html | title=Comverse CEO Dahan Departs After Restatements, Falling Sales | author=Sherman, Alex | publisher=Bloomberg News | date=2 March 2011}} Burdick became the first American to head the company.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000626727&fid=942 | title=Comverse CEO Andre Dahan to step down | author=Ben-Israel, Adi | newspaper=Globes | date=28 February 2011}}

In April 2011, the company agreed to a $2.8 million settlement with the U.S. government over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that had taken place between 2003 and 2005.{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-07/comverse-technology-to-pay-2-8-million-to-settle-u-s-bribery-allegations.html | title=Comverse Technology to Pay $2.8 Million to Settle U.S. Bribery Allegations | author=Thom Weidlich | publisher=Bloomberg News | date=7 April 2011}} Payments of $536,000 had been made to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization in order to obtain purchase orders and had been inaccurately reported as sales commissions in Comverse's accounting.

During the first half of 2011, analysts such as Oppenheimer & Co., J.P. Morgan and Barclays said that with its accounting problems largely behind it, some restructuring done, and an improving cash balance and some revenue growth, Comverse Technology was well-positioned for ongoing operations or a possible sale.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000626973&fid=1725 | title=Oppenheimer: Post-Dahan Comverse will jump 38% | newspaper=Globes | date=1 March 2011}}{{cite news | title=Comverse Technology | work=North American Equity Research | publisher=J.P. Morgan | date=22 February 2011}}{{cite news | url=http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Barclays+Maintains+an+Overweight+on+Comverse+Technology+%28CMVT%29%3B+Annual+Filings+Complete/6552350.html | title=Barclays Maintains an 'Overweight' on Comverse Technology (CMVT); Annual Filings Complete | publisher=Streetinsider.com | date=1 June 2011}} Zacks Investment Research predicted the company would again show a profit for fiscal year 2011.{{cite news | url=http://www.zacks.com/research/get_news.php?id=121l3971 | title=Following the Previous Year's Losses, Comverse Technology is Project to Go Profitable This Year | publisher=SmarTrend | date= 1 May 2011}} Comverse itself had gained tens of millions in new business, was hiring again in modest numbers, and was at about 4,000 employees, including some on an outsourcing basis.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000649886&fid=1725 | title=Comverse hiring 150 | author= Ron Steinblatt | newspaper=Globes | date=29 May 2011 }}

In June 2011, results for fiscal 2010 were announced, finally bringing the company current with its annual audited reporting.{{cite news | url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000650794&fid=1725 | title=Comverse halves 2010 GAAP net loss | newspaper=Globes | date=1 June 2011}} Revenues rose to $1.63 billion while the company's net loss was halved to $132.3 million, and the cash position was now stated as being sufficient to meet foreseeable needs. Another positive sign for its recovery came when it was re-listed on NASDAQ in September 2011.{{cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/business/nasdaq-to-relist-comverse-on-friday-1.3193033 | title=Nasdaq to relist Comverse on Friday | newspaper=Newsday | date=22 September 2011 }} In April 2012, results for fiscal 2011 were announced; revenues remained flat at $1.59 billion while the company's net loss decreased again, to $58.7 million.{{cite press release | url=http://www.comverse.com/technology_news.aspx?news=comverse-technology-fourth-quarter-full-fiscall-2011-results | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407235232/http://www.comverse.com/technology_news.aspx?news=comverse-technology-fourth-quarter-full-fiscall-2011-results | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 April 2013 | title=Comverse Technology Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal 2011 Results | publisher=Comverse Technology | date=3 April 2012 }}

In August 2012, a series of transactions were announced that would end Comverse Technology as a functioning entity, by making Comverse Network Systems an independent company once again known simply as Comverse, allowing Verint Systems to buy back Comverse Technology's majority stake, and selling off the other subsidiaries.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-comversetechnology-offer-verint-idUSBRE87C10F20120813 | title=Verint to buy Comverse Technology | work=Reuters | date=13 August 2012}} Burdick said, "[The Verint] agreement, along with the planned spin-off of [Comverse Network Systems], will result in a tax efficient distribution to our shareholders and direct ownership in two independent, well-capitalized {{Sic|hide=y|publicly|-}}traded companies." Philippe Tartavull was named as the CEO of the newly independent Comverse. Results for fiscal year 2012 for the restructured Comverse, Inc. demonstrated a return to profitability, with a net income of $5.1 million.{{cite web | url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=CNSI+Income+Statement&annual | title=CNSI Income Statement | publisher=Yahoo! Finance | access-date=31 December 2013}}

These restructuring transactions were completed on 4 February 2013 and represented the effective liquidation of the Comverse Technology holding entity.{{cite web | url=http://www.cmvt.com/ | title=Comverse Technology, Inc. – Investor Relations | publisher=Comverse Technology | access-date=29 January 2014}}

Further actions followed the end of Comverse Technology. During June 2015 Comverse divested its BSS business to Amdocs.{{cite press release | url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/07/02/749501/10140549/en/Amdocs-Completes-Acquisition-of-Comverse-BSS-Assets.html | title=Amdocs Completes Acquisition of Comverse BSS Assets | publisher=Globe Newswire | date=2 July 2015}} In September 2015 after a merger this new Comverse entity changed its name to Xura,{{cite press release | url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/08/06/758646/10145059/en/Comverse-Completes-Acquisition-of-Acision-Creating-a-Leader-in-Digital-Communication-Services.html | title=Comverse Completes Acquisition of Acision, Creating a Leader in Digital Communication Services | publisher=Globe Newswire | date=6 August 2015}} then after a further series of acquisitions and mergers in February 2017 it became part of Mavenir.{{cite news | url=https://telecoms.com/479479/xura-appeals-to-nostalgia-with-mavenir-rebrand/ | title=Xura appeals to nostalgia with Mavenir rebrand | author-first=Jamie | author-last=Davies | publisher=Telecoms.com | date=8 February 2017}}

Over the years, Comverse Technology won a number of awards within its industry, including:

• 2002 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra IntelliMiner){{cite press release | url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-887945/Verint-Systems-Awarded-2002-Product.html | title=Verint Systems Awarded 2002 'Product of the Year' By Technology Marketing Corporation's Customer Inter@ction Solutions Magazine | publisher=Business Wire | date= 6 January 2003}}
• 2004 – CMP Media's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra Intelligent Recording){{cite press release | url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-723635/Verint-ULTRA-Intelligent-Recording-Awarded.html | title=Verint ULTRA Intelligent Recording Awarded 2004 Product of the Year by Call Center Magazine | publisher=Business Wire | date= 25 February 2004}}
• 2004 – CDMA Development Group's Innovative Solutions Award (for Comverse's Multimedia Messaging Service Center){{cite press release | url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-809380/Comverse-MMSC-Recognized-With-3G.html | title=Comverse MMSC Recognized With 3G CDMA Industry Achievement Award | publisher=Business Wire | date= 29 September 2004}}
• 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 – Frost and Sullivan's Telecom BSS Vendor of the Year award (for Comverse's business support systems in the Asia Pacific region){{cite news | url=http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/triple-play/articles/29377-comverse-nabs-industry-award-fourth-year-a-row.htm | title=Comverse Nabs Industry Award Fourth Year in a Row | author=Galitzine, Greg | publisher=Technology Marketing Corporation | date=29 May 2008}}
• 2007 – International Engineering Consortium's Best VoIP Product or Service Award (for Comverse's Converged IPCentrex solution){{cite news | url=http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/04/comverse_wins_i.html | title=Comverse wins industry award | publisher=Boston.com | date=17 April 2007}}
• 2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's IMS Leadership Award (for Comverse's Converged Messaging Solution){{cite press release | url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6646603/Comverse-Receives-2007-IMS-Leadership.html | title=Comverse Receives 2007 IMS Leadership Award from IMS Magazine | publisher=Business Wire | date= 19 June 2007}}
• 2007 – International Engineering Consortium's InfoVision Awards for Best New Product (for Comverse's Converged Billing Suite){{cite news | url=http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/comverse-converged-billing-suite-bags-infovision-award-2007_289237.html | title=Comverse Converged Billing Suite bags InfoVision Award 2007 | publisher=Moneycontrol.com | date=28 June 2007}}
• 2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony Excellence Award (for Comverse's MyCall Converged Communications product){{cite press release | url=http://smart-grid.tmcnet.com/news/2007/09/17/2942938.htm | title=Comverse Receives a 2007 Internet Telephony Excellence Award | publisher=Smart Grid | date=17 September 2007}}
• 2009, 2010 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony BSS/OSS Excellence Award (for Comverse's ONE Billing & Active Customer Management package){{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/markets-in-brief-1.2318 | title=Markets in Brief | newspaper=Haaretz | date=11 December 2009}}{{cite press release | url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/comverse-wins-internet-telephony-bssoss-excellence-award-2011-07-06 | title=Comverse Wins Internet Telephony BSS/OSS Excellence Award | publisher=MarketWatch | date=6 July 2011}}
• 2010 – Virgo Publishing's Excellence Award for Best Cost Management Implementation (for Comverse's Business Support System product){{cite press release | url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/10804833/1/comverse-wins-billing-oss-worlds-excellence-award-for-best-cost-management-implementation.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI | title=Comverse Wins Billing & OSS World's Excellence Award For Best Cost Management Implementation | publisher=TheStreet.com | date=13 July 2010}}

• {{cite book | title=Innovation and the State: Political Choice and Strategies for Growth in Israel, Taiwan, and Ireland | first=Dan | last=Breznitz | edition=Revised | publisher=Yale University Press | location=New Haven | year= 2007 | isbn=978-0-300-12018-9}}
• {{cite book | title=The Software Industry in Emerging Markets | first=Simon | last=Commander | publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing | location=Cheltenham | year=2005 | isbn=1-84542-247-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/softwareindustry0000unse }}
• {{cite book | title=Wireless Messaging Demystified | first=Donald | last=Longueuil | publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional | location=New York | year=2003 | isbn=0-07-138629-7 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780071386296 }}
• {{cite book | title=History of Greed: Financial Fraud from Tulip Mania to Bernie Madoff | first1=David E. Y. | last1= Sarna | first2=Andrew | last2=Malik | publisher=John Wiley and Sons | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-470-60180-8}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.cmvt.com/ Former official Comverse Technology website]

{{Good article}}

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