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Digital age spurs demand for ICT services in Middle East, Africa

Xinhua, April 30, 2017 Adjust font size:

A senior Microsoft official said here on Sunday that despite economic headwinds, the digital age, also called the fourth industrial revolution, spurs demand for ICT services in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).

Samer Abu Ltaif, the regional President of Middle East and Africa (MEA) of Microsoft, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the Dubai government-sponsored "Dubai Font" event.

He said that the MEA region remains an outperformer in relation to information and communications technology (ICT).

Asked if the slump in oil prices in the last two and half years has not weighed on sector growth, Abu Ltaif said "the digital transformation of public and private entities in MEA offers sufficient opportunities for more growth in the region."

Digital transformation includes the internet of things, the increase of the virtual connectivity of firms and company branches through cloud computing, the usage of drones and robots in daily business processes and the usage of smart phones by employees and consumers to pass e-security barriers and to process payments and document transfer.

Earlier in the month, Microsoft nevertheless admitted that they were challenges. The firm said in an e-mailed statement on April 13, that 37 percent of respondents of a survey in the Middle East and Africa region cited a skills gap as the main barrier to cloud adoption.

In addition, "By 2020, more than one in three IT positions worldwide will be cloud related and the cloud-readiness of professionals will start to have a significant impact on operations," the statement said.

According to global research firm IDC, revenues for big data and analytics in MEA totaled 1.98 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.

In terms of industries, the government sector was the largest spender on BDA solutions in MEA in 2016, accounting for 20.4 percent of spending.

"We will continue to work with the Dubai government to help Dubai to become the smartest city in the world in relation to digital governance," said Abu Ltaif.

Dubai Font is the latest result of a cooperation agreement between Microsoft and the Dubai government.

The Dubai font reflects "the style of Dubai as an open city and is available in 23 languages on MS word applications and social media channels like twitter or instagram, among German, English, French, Arabic, Urdu, but not yet in Mandarin.

"More languages will be added of the Dubai government decides to do so," said Abu Ltaif.

IDC expects the region to see year-on-year growth of 11 percent in 2017 to reach 2.2 billion dollars. Endit