CAIRO: The Middle East and African region will be one the world's leading hotspots for technology investment in 2008, alongside China and India, according to new research from leading analyst house IDC. This year, total investment could reach $40.5 billion - growing by more than 13 percent over 2007 - with GCC investment amounting to $9.1 billion, the company said in a statement. Nearly 40 percent of this investment will be in support of new initiatives, in sharp contrast to markets like Europe and the US, where most investment is going towards replacing and updating existing technology infrastructure. This high investment forecast has created international interest in the potential of the Middle East market. However, if the investments are to result in genuine productivity benefits for companies - and concurrent social and economic benefits - then strong technology leadership is required across enterprises and organizations. To support the decision-making processes of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) operating within the Middle East, IDC organized a gathering of senior executives and technology companies: the first-ever CIO Summit held in the Middle East. Frank Gens, senior vice president and chief analyst at IDC, said, "Our forecast for 2008 is that the total IT market for Middle East and Africa will reach nearly $40.5 billion - an all-time high for this region. Set against the relatively flat growth of the US market, and the much lower growth levels of Europe, the Middle East will be a bright spot in the world market. John Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC, added, "Capitalizing on this growth, and utilizing technology to its full potential to help develop the region's economies, requires an informed, experienced management layer across all businesses. By bringing together some of the world's leading technology companies and the region's most senior technology decision-makers, we're aiming to provide a key forum to add to the understanding and the skill-set of CIOs operating in the Middle East. The ongoing development of key industry sectors, including energy, the public sector, aviation, real estate and retail, is one of the factors driving the growth of the IT sector. Much of the forecast investment for 2008 will focus on building infrastructure, including security, storage, customer relationship management, and enterprise resource planning. IDC's forecast for 2007-2011 suggests that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE will emerge as the markets with the highest compound annual growth rate. Egypt is set to realize 14.1 percent over the five year period, Saudi Arabia is set to realize 12.8 percent, Kuwait is set for 11.9 percent and the UAE 11.3 percent. Such significant sector growth - more than double the predicted GDP growth rates - indicates the long-term potential of the Middle East technology market. By way of contrast, only fast-growing markets like India (17 percent) and China (8.6 percent) are likely to match the development levels of the Middle East market. Established markets like Western Europe (5.7 percent), USA (5.1 percent) and Japan (1.7 percent) will record much lower rates. There will also be special roundtable sessions on security, building a data center, energy-efficient IT and corporate governance. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives and the investment communities make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 900 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 90 countries. For more than 43 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC retains a coordinated network of offices in Casablanca, Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg, and Istanbul, with a regional center in Dubai. Expansion plans in 2008 include additional offices in Riyadh and Cairo.
