Banned by the rabbi, bought by Microsoft

MICROSOFT HAS bought a company founded by an entrepreneur from a strictly Orthodox sect that has banned Facebook and other social media sites.

Shloma Baum, a member of the Satmar Chasidic community in New York, taught himself computer languages before creating FieldOne Systems, which has just been sold for an undisclosed amount.

As well as banning sites such as Twitter and Instagram, his sect said in 2014 that messaging software WhatsApp was the “number one cause of the destruction of Jewish homes and business”.

Mr Baum’s company’s software helps ensure staff sent away on jobs are properly equipped and are on time.

Ilan Slasky, FieldOne’s chief executive, told technology website Geektime that Mr Baum’s success could be an inspiration to people born into a similar situation.

“I am personally excited about what the potential for this transaction with Microsoft could mean for the tens of thousands of people in Israel who identify with this religious background and who live in a cycle of poverty with little means to extract themselves from it given their lack of education.”

In a blog on the Microsoft website, corporate vice-president Bob Stutz said the software means companies can better manage workers out on jobs and provide more accurate information on their arrival times at assignments, an improvement he called “essential for more personal customer engagement”.

Mr Baum wrote on his blog that he was “grateful and amazed” by the acquisition.

“What started as a simple idea some years ago has turned into a powerful solution that will impact millions of people around the world. I am truly humbled by this realisation.”

He added that FieldOne was part of a “very bright” future where evolutions in technology would see “rapid advances” in providing a better service.