Dubai: The 32nd edition of Gitex Technology Week 2012 was opened in Dubai on Sunday by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council for Dubai Government, under the theme, “Where Technology Means Business”.
And Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, toured the exhibition halls along with Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and top government officials as well as industry professionals.
The show, being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), saw a big number of eServices across government entities being launched.
Gitex, widely regarded as one of the world’s top three international ICT events, follows the highly successful consumer electronics retail show, Gitex Shopper, which experienced record-breaking attendance and sale revenue this year.
Thousands of trade and business visitors streamed through DWTC’s doors within the first hours of what is expected to be Gitex’s most globally influential edition yet. Over 130,000 industry professionals and more than 3,500 suppliers from 144 countries across five continents are expected throughout the week. More than half of the total exhibiting companies are international, with countries like Algeria, Denmark, Malaysia and New Zealand debuting at the show. This year Gitex’s focus extends to Africa and it has seen an increase in exhibitors from African countries including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, according to organisers.
Over 80 per cent of leading global ICT brands, featuring C-level executives representing ICT budgets of over $50 billion, are attending Gitex this year. The exhibitors and speakers’ list is packed with industry heavyweights such as Cisco, Dell, Du, Etisalat, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard, Huawei, Kaspersky, Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, RIM, Samsung, SAP and Symantec. Notable new exhibitors include Chinese telecommunications equipment company ZTE, Saudi Telecom Company, Sage, Vocalcom and African IT distributors Mitsumi.
Helal Saeed Al Marri, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai World Trade Centre, said: “Gitex is the region’s unrivalled platform for industry players to capitalise on the steady growth of the region’s ICT market as global and regional investors look to the lucrative emerging markets such as the Middle East Africa (MEA) for business and opportunities.”
While the first day witnessed launching [of services] across the government entities, Gitex will tackle the latest developments and threats posed in the field of cyber security, including recent energy sector attacks in the region, wireless security and mobility threats.
The Mobile Apps & Content World is set for a particularly busy week, and is forecast to grow by 40 per cent this year. In addition to networking with the top regional and international industry brands, visitors have access to upcoming technologies including mobile wallets and ticketing, smart TVs, 4G enabled phones, new-to-market tablets and much more.
Top industry speakers from BlackBerry, Etisalat, Facebook, Gemalto, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP and many more are set to deliver talks on developments in mobile apps. John E. Davies, Vice President, Intel World Ahead Programme, Intel Corporation, will discuss mobile content and the factors that are driving Arabic content throughout the Middle East.
