The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is likely to spend $171 billion in IT this year, according to research firm Gartner. This is an increase of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Businesses in the region are likely to spend $7.6 billion more in 2021, compared to last year.
John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner told the media, “As the situation in the region improves and businesses understand the true value of a resilient digital ecosystem, IT spending will return to a pre-pandemic growth rate. In the first quarter of 2021, projects such as ‘remote work visas’, ‘Smart Dubai 2021’ and other economic policy regulations were launched. These are expected to boost technology investments in the region.”
The report published by Gartner also revealed that spending on IT services will grow by 8.7 percent to $13 million in 2021. Similarly, spending on tech devices will rise by 8 percent to $27 million during the period.
Global IT spending is likely to reach $4.1 trillion in 2021, which is an increase of 8.4 percent year-on-year, according to Gartner.
Lovelock added, “IT no longer just supports corporate operations as it traditionally has, but is fully participating in business value delivery. Not only does this shift IT from a back-office role to the front of business, but it also changes the source of funding from an overhead expense that is maintained, monitored and sometimes cut, to the thing that drives revenue.”