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In: Feature Story, IT Services, News

According to a recent report from IDC, Driven in the long term by large-scale infrastructure projects, the IT services market in UAE is expected to expand at an average annual growth rate of 11.4% to exceed $2 billion in 2015. Such projects include the ENEC nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai World Central expansion project, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi metros, Al Ain Airport, countrywide railway developments across the UAE, Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone, and the expansion of the Ruwais refinery.Read More…

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In: Expert Views

Financial Institutions across Middle East and Africa will adopt latest technologies and communication trends in 2012 to improve customer experience, brace for competition with global players on the region’s markets, and to comply with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. This according to top 10 finance industry predictions published by market research and advisory company IDC. Middle East and Africa saw similar economic growth levels in 2011 as in the previous year, with an average gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.6%. The finance vertical has experienced healthy growth in technology adoption since 2010, and IDC estimates the IT expenditure totaled $7.5 billion across MEA as a whole in 2011, representing 6.0% year-on-year increase. Strong growth rates were seen especially in Saudi Arabia (13.7%), and the United Arab Emirates (8.8%).Read More…

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In: Feature Story, News

According toIDC, the PC market for the Middle East and Africa region suffered a decline in shipments during the last quarter of 2011, despite a healthy growth in Saudi Arabia and UAE. The overall market from falling 6.7% on Q4 2010 levels to total 5.1 million units. The market saw declines across the technology spectrum, with desktop shipments decreasing 12.1% year on year to 1.8 million units and shipments of notebooks shrinking 3.4% over the same period to 3.3 million units, while the situation in Turkey, Egypt, and Nigeria was particularly bleak.Read More…

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In: Enterprise, Feature Story, IT Services, News

According to IDC’s 2011 Marketscape report Xerox leads the worldwide Managed Print Services (MPS) segment. The report, which analyzes MPS vendors and delivers an overview of competitive fitness, highlights Xerox’s ability to serve companies of all sizes through its continuum of MPS services delivered by both direct and indirect distribution channels.
As per IDC companies considering MPS should look at the breadth of a vendor’s current offerings and the strategic outlook for future services. Read More…

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According to latest report by IDC, Q3 2011 saw a total of 4.7 million devices were shipped into the region and notebook shipments were up by 15.1% year on year to 2.94 million. HP maintained its leading position on the MEA PC market in Q3, recording strong year-on-year growth of 37.1%, primarily driven by its aggressively-priced consumer notebook portfolio. Fierce competition from rival vendors prevented second-placed Dell from replicating the strong growth it posted in 2010, while Toshiba overcame supply issues that inhibited its performance in Q2 2011 to record a 28.6% year-on-year increase in shipments, which placed it third in the vendor rankings. Read More…

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In: Feature Story, News, Software, Storage

According to the latest Worldwide Storage Software Qview by IDC, the storage software market grew in the second quarter of 2011, with a total market valuation of $3.4 billion during the quarter, up 11.3% over the same period last year. And, EMC cornered nearly 25% market share followed by Symantec, and IBM with 15.8% and 14.1% market shares respectively. Whereas, Hitachi clocked the highest percentage growth followed by HP.Read More…

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In: Feature Story, News

Since the beginning of this year several independent analyst and research firms reported that the Saudi Arabia for technology is going to expand with the increase in Saudi government IT spending. According to leading IT research and analyst firm IDC, Saudi government IT spending on infrastructure and security, particularly in the areas of communication and education, could push the total amount the Kingdom spends on IT hardware, software, and related services pass the USD 6.4 billion mark. Read More…

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In: Feature Story, Networking, News, SME, Storage

NETGEAR, a networking and storage specialist plans to penetrate and create a stronger market presence in Qatar’s ICT segment and has ultimately set a QAR 10 million revenue goal in 2013. The move complements the latest Qatar IT Industry report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) stating that the country’s rapidly developing ICT segment is posed to reach a value of QAR 13.47 billion over the next two years. The report shows that the country’s telecommunications, government, oil & gas, and finance vertical markets have been identified as market segments with high IT spending which reflect Qatar’s move to diversify and increase the private sector’s role and participation in the move towards development.
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In: Feature Story, Hardware, News, Notebooks

IDC raised its shipment forecast for 2011 to 53.5 million units from a previous projection of 50.4 million units. Apple’s iPad and the recently introduced iPad 2 continue to dominate the media tablet market, as other vendors have had a more difficult time finding market acceptance for their products. Mobile phone vendors, such as Samsung and Motorola, who have focused their distribution through the telco carriers, found moderate success with their media tablets, but sales were largely stymied by many consumers’ unwillingness to sign up for the 3G/4G data plans that the carriers typically require along with these devices.
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In: Feature Story, News, Storage

The external disk storage market in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA) recorded a 16.9% year-on-year increase in terms of value in the first quarter of 2011 to total $366.8 million. International market research company IDC has recorded the capacity sold at 163.1 petabytes, which was double the figure reported in the same period last year. Fiber channel SAN-attached storage continued to hold the largest value share at 62.1%. However, the category grew only a modest 5.5% year-on-year, far behind the rapidly expanding NAS and iSCSI storage systems.
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In: Feature Story, News, Software, Storage

According to the newly relaunched IDC Worldwide Semiannual Storage Software Tracker, the worldwide storage software market is expected to grow 7.8% year over year in 2011 with revenues reaching nearly $13.8 billion. CommVault and HDS achieved the most impressive growth rates among all the storage software vendors. “The storage software market spent 2010 recovering from a difficult downturn. Fortunately, there was plenty of pent-up demand and new product innovations to help create momentum in the market. Looking forward, demand for storage software appears poised to remain strong around the world as organizations continue to address inefficiencies related to storing, protecting, and managing corporate data.” said Eric Sheppard, research director, Storage Software, IDC.Read More…

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In: Africa Focus, Feature Story, News

Technology powerhouse HP has maintained its top position in the East African PC market, with shipment growth of 46% year on year, supported by strong commercial demand and improved run-rates during Q1 2011. The vendor remained very strong in the Kenya market but continued to struggle in Ethiopia and Uganda. Rival Dell came a close second in Q1, with more than 600% year-on-year growth, after an aggressive channel recruitment and revamped drive from mid-2010. Dell continued to benefit more than other vendors from the shift from the grey market to official channels, especially in Ethiopia and Uganda, where desktop sales increased significantly. Taiwanese headquartered vendor Acer was third in East Africa in Q1, with 200% year-on-year growth, mainly thanks to deals in the telecommunications space. This channel is expected to continue growing as telcos explore data services to supplement dwindling voice revenues.
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