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| Dubai |
Dubai: Small
and medium sized enterprises (SME) across the Middle East and Africa (MEA)
region are set to ramp-up their information technology (ICT) budgets as they
aspire to become engines for economic growth and sustainable job creation.
Intent on
boosting the MEA’s burgeoning SME potential, Gitex Technology Week is
officially launching its SME Zone following last year’s successful trial run.
Sponsored by security software giant Symantec SME, the new feature will serve
as a conduit for SME Information and communication technology (ICT) businesses
from MEA to engage with a high concentration of influential investors.
Based on new
figures by IT market intelligence specialists IDC, IT spend by SMEs in the
region is set to rise from last year’s outlay of $16.73 billion (Dh61 billion)
to $24.48 billion by 2015. Most of last year’s financial activity was split
between Saudi Arabia (11 per cent), the UAE (9 per cent), Turkey (12 per cent)
and South Africa (26 per cent), and this geographic trend is expected to
continue in the coming years. SMEs are regarded as integral to a developed
economy and play an essential role in employment generation. In the UAE, more
than 80 per cent of the private sector is comprised of SMEs, according to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade.
With an
estimated 200,000 small and medium sized enterprises currently in operation in
the UAE, the contribution of this key business sector to the country’s economy
is significant. According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, SMEs have become
vital to the growth of the UAE economy, contributing 60 per cent of the
national GDP in 2011.
As part of
the SME Zone, attendees will also have the chance to hear ICT SME success
stories and glean insights from a range of carefully selected experts at the
International Lounge, including Christian Illmer, senior director Application
& Solution Enterprise, ADVA Optical Networking (Germany); Klaus Mochalski,
CEO, Adyton Systems (Germany); Jung Ji Bum, Team Leader (Next Generation
Industry Team), NIPA(Korea’s National IT Industry Promotion Agency); Mohammad
Chakib, general manager of DATAPLUS and President of APEBI’s export committee
(Morocco); and Thulani Mpetsheni , Director — Electrotechnical Sector, The
Department of Trade & Industry (South Africa).
Gitex
Technology Week will also put a high-profile spotlight on a range of solutions
suited to SME enhancement via its Gitex Consumer Tech, Gitex Mobile Apps &
Content World, Gitex Card Technology and Gitex Digital Marketing sectors.
Prajit
Arakkal, Director of SMB and Distribution Sales for Emerging Markets, Symantec,
said: “At Symantec, we are very aware that small businesses are driving our
global economies and we are proud to lend our support to Gitex’s SME Zone. As
SMBs don’t typically have dedicated IT personnel focusing on the information
protection they need to keep them out of harm’s way, making them more
susceptible to risks than enterprises, Symantec delivers products and services
tailored specifically to SMBs to ensure they are protected so they can focus on
what they do best — accelerate their businesses.
Symantec
understands the SMB environment and the challenges they face. The Symantec SMB
team works around the clock to protect the information that fuels the
livelihood of this important community in the Mena region and around the
world.”
Dhiraj
Daryani, research manager, IDC MEA, said: “IT is enabling SMEs to operate like
big companies, and acquire the wherewithal to compete and win business on a
greater scale than ever before, and we are witnessing encouraging receptivity
for the latest technology across the MEA region. Today’s cutting-edge solutions
are no longer unwieldy, incompatible and prohibitively expensive, which
presents considerable and exciting new avenues for growth and innovation.”
Gulfnews.com