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UAE Freezones Biz News Updates
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UAE tops region in IT investments
UAE is leading the Arab world when it comes to generating economic impact
from investments in ICT, a report said.
The study, entitled the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology
Report 2016, ranked the UAE 26th globally, just ahead of Qatar (27th) while
Kuwait (61st) was one of the world's biggest improvers, up by 11 places on
the previous list.
Christophe Meunier, partner at advisory and investment group, Delta
Partners, which specialises in the telecoms, media and digital space, said:
“In the race to become a truly digital economy, the UAE has just emerged as
the front runner in the Arab world.”
“By investing in information technologies and demonstrating commitment to
digital connectivity, the UAE will fuel and protect the future health of
business, and in turn, the economy. Those companies and economies that fail
to take the digital transformation turn, will not only lag behind other
countries, they will ultimately struggle to remain relevant in the new
digital paradigm,” he added.
“In this way ICT should be viewed as the lifeblood of the commercial
sector. To continue being an attractive place to do business, having a
vibrant ICT sector is therefore critical for any economy. Going forward it
is vital that there is a solid understanding of the changing landscape, and
the changing roles enterprises will need to play within it. In this sense,
the Arab world has a unique opportunity to leapfrog into the digital world,
if firms are capable of seeing the opportunity and avoid replicating the
path of a more mature economy,” Meunier explained.
“Businesses will need to redefine their roles and decide on a game plan to
play in the new enterprise ICT environment. For instance, the number of
things connected to the internet is expected to grow exponentially from
~four billion devices today to 12-50 billion by 2020, based on various
estimates. While most of the use cases today are in the consumer domain,
future Internet of Things (IoT) growth is expected to be mainly driven
through use cases in the business domain.
“However, for IoT to cross the chasm from early adoption to pervasive use -
especially in the business segment - gaps in the IoT value chain need to be
addressed particularly in enabling security, device management and
aggregation. Businesses – particularly telecommunications companies - will
need to redefine their roles and understand how they can supplement their
central position as connectivity providers with network and partnership
capabilities. They will then be able to play a meaningful role in addressing
these gaps, while fostering and orchestrating an open and vibrant ecosystem.
“So, with the likes of Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel, Singapore, the
Netherlands and the United States leading the way on the global stage, there
is still everything to play for. Qatar recently announced that spending in
its "commercial sector" is projected to increase to nearly $2.8bn by 2019,
with the total ICT spending by the country’s commercial sector standing at
$1.9bn in 2015 according to a report entitled, "Qatar’s ICT Landscape 2016:
Business." As such, against this backdrop of positivity, and with such
investment already ear-marked in Qatar, the route map for growth is poised
for the taking.
“As the Arab world continues to rise in the global ranks of networked
readiness, there needs to be a clear understanding of the differing market
dynamics at play in the ICT area. Deciding on and creating a coherent
business model will be vital for local, regional and global operators to
thrive in this new environment where ICT is king,” Meunier concluded.
gdnonline.com |
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Courtesy
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