UAE to spend $15b on ICT by 2011

Dubai: The UAE is currently spending $11.4 billion on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and that figure is set to rise to $14.8 billion by 2011, according to research conducted by economic and financial analysts Global Insight.

The country has been a leader in the Middle East when it comes to spending on ICT, according to the researcher.

Of the overall industry, IT spend alone in the UAE will reach $2.3 billion in 2012, with a continuous annual growth of 23.9 per cent, International Data Corporation (IDC), a research firm, said in a recent report.

Outlook

In the coming years, IDC expects IT services spending in the UAE to continue to expand rapidly, fuelled by a strong economy, a maturing IT market and increased foreign investment.

In 2007, IT services spending in the country surged 41 per cent to nearly $791 million.

Meanwhile, the largest area of spending in the UAE ICT market, according to the research, is within the consumer sector. The spending in the segment will surge to $6.8 billion in the next three years, moving up from the current $5.3.

The UAE is also currently spending nearly $1 billion on ICT in the communications, energy and utilities, and government sectors, with each rising to $1.2 billion by 2011.

A lot of attention in the ICT sector will be focused on Gitex Technology Week, taking place in the UAE next month.

The exhibition has attracted many companies from within the UAE such as Al Yah Satellite Communications, etisalat, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Thuraya Satellite, looking to build on strong relationships between the rest of the world and the UAE technology industries.

These companies will sit alongside other major international exhibitors such as BlackBerry, Dell, Micro-soft Dynamics, Oracle Systems, Panasonic, Sharp and Symantec.

"Many ICT companies from across the world are using the UAE as a base for their Middle East global operations. Gitex is helping with this huge increase in spending by allowing UAE and international companies to connect with businesses and establish lasting working relationships," said Helal Saeed Al Merri, director general, Dubai World Trade Centre, organisers of Gitex Technology Week.

Sami Abi Esber, president of Mideast Data Systems, a IT services provider, said, "Gitex is always a very important exhibition where our group MDS UAE, gets the opportunity to highlight its services to a global market."