vtec equivalents on other Japanese cars?

A friend of mine has been giving me shit about my vtec engine. He says that vtec is crappy and that it's a cheap immitation of stuff that both Nissan and Toyota have had for over 10 years. I don't know that much about Nissans and Toyotas so I really couldn't say much. But is this true that vtec is not an original creation of Honda's? And what exactly does vtec do and how does it differ from i-vtec?