Minister Al-Rajhi: 11,171 jobs created in occupational safety and health field in 3 years    EU to launch first chamber of commerce in Riyadh to boost trade relations    ALESCO's Executive Council meeting to be held in Jeddah    Crown Prince to grace Arab Forum of Anti-Corruption Agencies on May 15 in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia, Japan discuss way to grow digital economy and innovation    Saudi startups secure over SR12 billion in venture capital investment in a decade    Saudi non-oil revenues up by 9% reaching SR111.5 billion in 1Q of 2024 Quarterly budget report posts SR12.39 billion deficit    Kerem Shalom crossing closed as Hamas fires rockets from Gaza    Rwanda won't guarantee how many migrants it will take from UK    Presidential Medal of Freedom: Biden honors activists, astronauts and Olympians    European election: Teen admits to attacking Matthias Ecke    Groundbreaking Ceremony for Al-Asasyah Advanced Industry HVAC Smart Factory in Dammam    Loay Nazer announces candidacy for presidency of Al-Ittihad    Al-Nassr sets up thrilling clash with Al-Hilal in King's Cup final after defeating Al-Khaleej    Karim Benzema seeks medical consultation in Madrid for ongoing injuries    Al-Hilal beats Al-Ittihad in heated King's Cup semi-final    Infinix GT 20 Pro flagship launch: Revolutionizing esports-level gaming and ushering in a new era of the holistic gaming universe    SFDA: Breast-milk substitute products are sugar-free complying with Saudi specifications    'Zarqa Al Yamama': Riyadh premieres first Saudi opera    Australian police launch manhunt for Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger    JK Rowling in 'arrest me' challenge over hate crime law    Trump's Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles    Hollywood icon Will Smith shares his profound admiration for Holy Qur'an    We have celebrated Founding Day for three years - but it has been with us for 300    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



GITEX Saudi 2012 opens amid robust ICT market
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 05 - 2012

IT spending in Kingdom set to hit $5.7b by end-2014
Per capita IT spending to reach $200
Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, President of King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology, cuts the ceremonial ribbon during the opening of GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Monday.
RIYADH – GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012, a four-day premier business-to-business networking event and leading consumer information and communication technology (ICT) exhibition, kicked off Monday against a backdrop of skyrocketing demand for wireless data which is a key driver fueling the industry growth.
Saudi Arabia possesses huge potential for the growth of smartphones, IPTV, WiMax, and security software market. Smartphone growth in the Kingdom will be driven by various factors including user generated content, availability of local content, rapidly evolving social networking websites, rich Internet applications, among others. One industry study projected that the Kingdom will observe rapid growth in 3G and broadband market during the next few years.
In the face of mushrooming demand, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, President of King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology, inaugurated this year's event at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, in which over 250 local and international exhibitors participating in the exposition. They are showcasing the latest developments and emerging trends within the buoyant Saudi ICT sector.
According to RNCOS report on "Saudi Arabia ICT Market Forecast 2014", the Saudi ICT market has witnessed significant growth during the past few years with growth across almost every industry verticals. This growth is mainly due to the liberalization of the ICT market, intense competition, and dynamic demographics of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has been experiencing rapid adoption of new technologies with huge potential in VAS and e-commerce. The Kingdom has become one of the fastest growing IT markets in the Middle Eastern region and is projected to account for up to 50 percent of the total ICT investments in the GCC during 2010-2012.
Overall IT spending in Saudi Arabia is set to hit $5.7 billion by the end of 2014 from around $3.5 billion in 2010, at a compound annual growth rate of around 13 percent. The Kingdom's per capita IT spending is expected to reach close to $200 by 2014. Communications sector continues to be the largest investor in the IT industry.
The report forecast that "there is still room for a better end-user experience and customization of applications, despite intense competition and price wars." It is projected that, the Saudi VAS market will witness a CAGR of around 10.6 percent during 2008-2015.
It noted that growing youth population is an important factor for the surging IT spending in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the government spends much on infrastructure and education, which creates a huge demand for advanced technology and security.
Further, the Saudi government has implemented various e-Government projects and many government projects are under development. Examples include e-government portal, e-government network, public key infrastructure (PKI), e-government interoperability framework, national smart ID cards, e-Payment gateway (Sadad), e-Tax system, social insurance system, and electronic information exchange. Besides, numerous government services are currently available online, such as investment licenses, visa applications, traffic tickets enquiry & payment, paying passport fees, and paying utilities bills, the report said.
GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012 has generated remarkable interest from the local public sector.
In addition to the support from the Ministry of Communications & IT, the event is seeing the participation of the Ministry of Interior-NIC, the Ministry of Justice, e-Government Program (Yesser), Riyadh Municipality, Technical & Vocational Training Corp., Commission for Communications & Information Technology (CITC), and BADIR-ICT. Further, the event is being attended by companies from China, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Japan, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Czech Republic, England, Turkey, UK, Germany and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012 taps into latest ISP solutions, card technologies and smart chips, consultancy and training, customer relationship management (CRM), digital imaging and graphics, e-business, money management, information management, networks and business communications, office automation, online information systems, security solutions and wireless computing among others.
According to Telecommunications Industry Association's 2012 ICT Market Review & Forecast, global Internet traffic will quadruple by 2015, and in five years, mobile broadband traffic will be 35 times current levels.
The Middle East/Africa region will have 10 percent growth in telecom spending through 2015, followed by Asia Pacific at 9.5 percent and Latin America at 7.5 percent. In 2013 consumers will spend $108 billion on wireless data and $91.5 billion on wireless voice.
GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012, the 11th International Information Technology Exhibition for Saudi Arabia, runs concurrently with Saudi Communications 2012 – The 14th International Telecommunications Exhibition which serves as the business-to-business portion of GITEX. The show is certified by UFI - the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and is organized by Riyadh Exhibitions Company.


Clic here to read the story from its source.