Expanding GCC IT market boosts demand for advanced technology platforms

Published March 9th, 2003 - 03:00 GMT

eSolutions BEA expects to increase its shares in the regional buoyant market which is projected to be worth eight billion dollars.

“The expanding GCC market, which stood at six billion dollars in 2002, is poised to record more striking growth within the next three years, fuelling demand for proven solutions for enterprise applications and system integration”, said Regional Manager, Middle East & Egypt, eSolutions BEA, Diyaa Zebian. Zebian's optimistic forecast is based on market research projections, which indicate that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) IT market value will cross the eight billion dollar figure by 2005.

The region's IT landscape is set to change dramatically within the next years judging by market research figures. According to Madar Reseach Group, the GCC IT market will grow at a compound average growth rate of 9.4 percent over the next three years, to touch eight billion dollars per annum. The market will be driven by robust activity in the IT markets of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which together constitute over 80 percent of the GCC's entire IT market. The third major player is Bahrain, which has allocated a huge budget for IT, above the world average.

IT Spending in GCC has shown tremendous growth, according to Madar Research figures. When viewed as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), Bahrain tops the list with 3.97 percent, against the world average of 3.88 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia with 1.99 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 1.77 percent).

BEA Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS) is an infrastructure software company, providing the enterprise software foundation for 13,000 customers around the world, including the majority of the Fortune Global 500. US-based BEA has 91 offices in 33 countries. — (menareport.com)