The Saudi Arabian IT market is estimated to reach $3.8 billion by 2010, according to recent studies, as a result of the Kingdom's dedicated efforts to enhance its current ICT infrastructure and its sizeable investments into the development of eServices, eEducation and Smart Cities. With aims to leverage the Kngdom's rapid transformation as a regional leader in information technology, Mindware, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East, has announced that it has invested in a state-of-the-art office located in Olaya Street, opposite the renowned Kingdom Tower in Riyadh. The office will serve as a domestic hub for its Saudi operations and is expected to usher in further growth in Mindware's business in the Kingdom. According to the IDC report, the six Gulf countries - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman will account for nearly 23 per cent of the total IT spending of the entire Middle East and Africa (MEA), which is expected to exceed AED146.8 billion in 2008. The report further pointed to the potency of the Gulf information technology market, which is expected to exceed AED44 billion by 2011, representing a growth of almost 12 percent. Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the region, comprising 43 percent of the overall IT spending and Mindware has made a decision to launch its new office and establish stronger operations in the Kingdom to address the booming demand from its government, as well as its largest industrial and business sectors. “The establishment of our KSA-based office is a testament to our commitment to our clients in Saudi Arabia, as it reflects our eagerness to maintain a personal contact with them to sufficiently address their needs,” said Jacques Chammas, CEO, Mindware. “The office will prove invaluable to our resellers as it will be a venue for in-depth training, service and access to exhaustive information on cutting edge solutions. This would also help us in acquiring comprehensive feedback and concrete input from our channel partners on their requirements and accordingly meet their need in a proactive manner.” Strategically located in the Kingdom's major commercial zone, which makes it easily accessible to potential and existing clients in the information technology sector, the new Mindware office will incorporate a training room, conference and meeting rooms, and will utilize high speed DSL and Alcatel-Lucent telephony system. The office will also boast of an electronic attendance system, separate rooms for team leaders, access control system to avoid unauthorized intrusion and security cameras at the entrance. Set to house a team of 30 personnel, the office has been designed to provide an excellent work environment, which will result in more efficient day-to-day operations. “We believe that this is the perfect time to strengthen our operations and value added services in the Kingdom by setting up a bigger Saudi-based office, which will focus on addressing the growing IT needs of this highly favored investment destination. As more and more global companies are being drawn to KSA with aims of tapping into the excellent business opportunities in this rapidly growing country, we will be there to assist them with their IT needs. We are positive that the growth of Saudi will help us achieve our target growth of 20 per cent for 2008, thereby motivating us further to focus our attention to this booming market,” he said. Highlighting its growing operations in Saudi Arabia, Mindware has recently given seven of its value-added partners the “Best Dell Partner of the Year” award for their success in retailing Dell products in the booming market. Among the awardees are Saudi-based companies PC net, El Hartany, PC Time, El Hasoub, GTech and El Shadadi. The company has also revealed future product plans and strategies to its regional network as part of its aggressive regional expansion campaign. Meanwhile, The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) expenditure on information and communications technology (ICT) is expected to rise to $14.8 billion by 2011. The country has been a leader in the Middle East when it comes to spending on ICT and currently spends about $11.4 billion on the sector. Spending on information technology in the UAE is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2012, with a continuous annual growth of 23.9 percent, research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a recent report. __
