IT spending to touch $36b in region

Dubai: Gitex, the region's leading technology exhibition, opens on Sunday at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The show, now in its 19th year, will run until Thursday.

It's been a rough year for the IT industry, which has seen little to no growth over the past year as many companies have scaled back spending.

Helal Saeed Al Merri, the chief executive of the DWTC, told reporters last week that the region's IT industry and Gitex have been hit by the global economic recession, but has been "less affected" than other regions of the world.

Read special coverage on Gitex 2009

According to a report by industry analysts at IDC, IT spending will continue to grow over the next year. In the Middle East and Africa region, IT spending in 2009 will be $36 billion (Dh132 billion). From the end of 2008 to the end of 2013, IT spending will grow 7.3 per cent a year, compared to the 2.6 per cent gross domestic product growth per year.

According to the report, the spending increase means the employment of IT professionals will increase by 321,000 jobs over the next four years. There are currently an estimated 1 million IT professionals in the region.

Greater turnout

The show's organisers say they have been working with local and international IT firms to produce a successful show this year.

Last year there were over 3,300 companies from 83 countries exhibiting at Gitex. This year the DWTC is saying the number has increased slightly.

The biggest attraction at this year's show will likely be the release of Windows 7, Microsoft's successor to the Vista operating system.

Al Merri told Gulf News that DWTC worked with Microsoft's regional office, who were successful in getting Microsoft's headquarters to approve the sale of Windows at Gitex Shopper a week before its official release on Thursday.

Microsoft vice-president Steve Guggenheim will also be giving a keynote address today at the main exhibition, where he will be giving a preview of the new software.

Other events at this year's show include a 3D home theatre system by Panasonic and the relaunch of the Ford Taurus, complete with the latest gadgetry, in the Middle East.

A number of major IT players such as Google, IBM and Intel will not be exhibiting this year despite attendance in previous years. However, Al Merri said the absence of any major company from a tech exhibition is not unusual.

Gitex is open today from 1 to 7pm. From Monday until Wednesday, the show will be open from 10am to 7pm.

On Thursday the show will be open from 10am to 5pm. Visitors can pay to park onsite or use a number of free lots around the DWTC.

The show will also be running a shuttle from the nearby Al Jafiliya Metro station.