Half of senior executives in European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) technology companies do not expect a recovery in the IT market until the end of the year according to a survey conducted by specialist technology group, NettResults/Eurocom PR Network. The survey’s findings indicate that an overall recovery in the technology markets is expected by 46 percent of respondents by the end of this year. Thirty two percent think recovery will be delayed until the first quarter of 2004 while 10 percent gloomily predict the last half of 2004 or later.
The opinion from the Middle East tech companies is brighter, showing that they believe the local economy in the region will recover faster than global trends. Forty three percent of all Middle East respondents estimate the recovery to be before October 2004.
Although the majority of respondents feel that the war in Iraq will delay recovery, there are some indications from the survey that the tech market may already be over the worst. Fifty four percent of all respondents expect an increase in revenues over the next six months, while 34 percent expect them to remain the same. Only 11 percent thought their revenues would decrease. The study, conducted during February and March, covered 147 executives in technology companies located in 12 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. Despite the overall pessimistic opinions, none of the Middle East tech firms surveyed expected their 2003 revenues to decrease year-on-year. Nick Leighton, managing director, NettResults, Dubai, commented, “With 78 percent of Middle East companies believing that their sales will actually increase in 2003 compared with 2002, we are very positive that our public relations and integrated marketing solutions will continue to increasingly promote local and international companies in the region.”
The NettResults survey suggests that the employment situation in the tech sector may have stabilized, with 50 percent of respondents expecting employment levels to remain the same over the next six months. In EMEA, one in three expect jobs to increase, while 16 percent anticipate further job cuts. Leighton said, “It appears that the job market is relatively insulated in this region with only four percent of Middle East tech companies believing there will be further job cuts in 2003.”
Arab News Compunet 8 April 2003