 Founded in 1982 , the company went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 1986 . Led by co @-@ founder and CEO Jacob " Kobi " Alexander , the company originally specialized in centralized hardware / software systems for voice and fax messaging and sold them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises . Much of its funding came from Israeli government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi @-@ tech firms . By the mid @-@ 1990s , one of its most successful products allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from intercepted communications . Starting in the late 1990s , Comverse 's voice messaging software became its main product and the company grew rapidly with the surge in mobile phone use , passing the $ 1 billion mark in revenues . It established a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market and sold a popular short message service center ( SMSC ) product . While headquartered in the US , most of the company 's research and development was done in Israel ; Comverse became one of the more visible success stories in Israel 's hi @-@ tech industry . It was one of Israel 's largest employers of software engineers , was closely followed in the nation 's business press , and was the first Israeli @-@ associated company to join the S & P 500 index . 
