Organizers Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) have seen a noticeable surge in exhibitors from Saudi Arabia to Gitex, with Saudi companies booking around 1,200 sq. mt. of net floor space at the event this year, up by 20 percent from last year.
“A total of 31 exhibitors from Saudi Arabia representing a cross-section of the industry have booked space at Gitex 2005, as the exhibition once again confirms its credentials as the Middle East’s largest and most important information technology event,” said DWTC Director General Helal Saeed Khalfan Al-Marri.
He noted that the upsurge in exhibitors was in harmony with IDC projections for the mature IT markets of the Gulf region. “According to the IDC, Saudi Arabia and the UAE between them account for 77 percent of the Gulf’s current annual IT spend of 18.12 billion dirhams ($4.94 billion),” Al-Marri remarked.
Prominent among the Saudi companies that have confirmed participation at Gitex (Sept. 25-29) are Saudi Telecom Co., Saudisoft, Jeraisy, Ariss Computer, Al-Elm Computer Security, Star ME and Advanced Electronics.
In conjunction with Gitex, Datamatix will be organizing three events. Global Government & Business Leaders will be held from Sept. 24-27 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai. Information on the conference is at www.leadersleaders.com. Global ICT Leaders@Gitex 2005 will take place from Sept. 24-29 at The Fairmont. See www.globalictleaders.com for further information.
Finally, the 2nd ME Banking & Finance Excellence Awards will be held on Sept. 25 at the Grand Hyatt. The theme of the awards for 2005 is e-banking. The awards will honor the best banks in the Middle East that provide e-services to solve customer needs through technology. Information is at www.meawards.com/banking.