Alan Caplan was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was an active member of Bnei Zion and, subsequently, Habonim following the merger of the two movements. The year after high school he attended the South African Airforce Gymnasium and graduated in 1966 with a B.SC from Wits University.

He joined the computer division of NCR in January 1967 and continued to work for them after returning from Israel at the end of his 6-month volunteering in December 1967. Alan was seconded twice to NCR’s R&D Division in the US and, the second time, completed an M.S. in Engineering Management at the University of Dayton, Ohio.

In 1968 Alan married Beverly Baron and they came on aliyah in 1979 as founding members of Moshav Manof in the Galilee. In 1988 Alan was commissioned by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to develop a PC base computer system for rural banks in developing countries. Alan installed his system in 21 countries around the world.

The Caplans have 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren.