Entrepreneurs look for share in $ 35 bn ICT market

Local and international entrepreneurs are looking for their share in the $ 35 billion information and communication technology (ICT) market at the GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012, which was opened by Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday.
The GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012, a premier business-to-business networking event and leading consumer ICT show, attracted the participation of over 250 local and international exhibitors showcasing latest developments and emerging trends within the buoyant Saudi ICT sector.
GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012, the 11th International Information and Communications Technology Exhibition for Saudi Arabia, is being held with the support of Mohamed Jamil bin Ahmed Mulla, minister of communications and IT.
A spokesman from the exhibition center said the show had generated remarkable enthusiasm from the local public sector. In addition to the support from the Ministry of Communications and IT, he added that the event is witnessing the participation of the Ministry of Interior-NIC, the Ministry of Justice, e-Government Program (Yesser), Riyadh Municipality, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Commission for Communications and Information Technology (CITC), and KACST's BADIR-ICT program.
Explaining the importance of the show, he said the ICT market in the Kingdom is one of the largest in the Middle East in terms of capital and volume of spending representing 68 percent of the total sector in the Persian Gulf and receiving investments in excess of $ 35 billion during the last 10 years.
"ICT is not only the third largest but also the fastest growing sector in the Kingdom after oil and finance," he added. In 2010, total spending on the ICT sector was estimated at $ 20 billion compared to less than $ 1 billion 10 years ago.
A recent survey revealed that consumer spending on IT was estimated to be $ 250 per individual in the Kingdom. Six million broadband subscriptions are projected by 2014 in the Kingdom. It was also reported that there has been a seven percent growth in the sale of smart devices during the past few years.
"Projected growth in the local information technology sector has been fueling demand for advanced IT solutions, keeping pace with the evolving business and lifestyle needs of people. GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012 presents valuable insights into the future of the Kingdom's ICT market and provide manufacturers, service providers, legislators and consumers with an ideal platform that addresses their various IT business requirements," he added.
Companies from China, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Japan, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Czech Republic, Turkey, the UK and Germany alongside those from the Kingdom are participating in the event.
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.
GITEX Saudi Arabia 2012, also runs concurrently with Saudi Communications 2012 — The 14th International Telecommunications Exhibition — that 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. The show will run till May 24.