NETGEAR expands to Qatar to tap into booming regional IT market

The move will see NETGEAR operate from Qatar, in addition to the UAE, following increased levels of mobile phone and internet penetrations, especially among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.

Commenting on the expansion, Ahmad Zeidan, Channel Sales Manager, NETGEAR Middle East said,

'We have achieved outstanding success in our Middle Eastern operations so far, registering more than AED 7.34 million in revenue since we opened our Dubai office only six months ago. We also have established wide distribution channels covering KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt, which underlines our ambitious expansion program in the Middle East and our serious commitment to fulfilling the high market demands of the region.'

'Qatar is one of the world's top destinations for ICT investment at the moment as there is a gap in the market for high quality product providers and NETGEAR has the expertise, support and vision to become a dominant player within the industry,' added Zeidan.

According to recent Madar reports, Qatar has experienced exceptional growth in its ICT industry in recent years and is currently ranked third on the Arab countries ICT Use Index. Statistics indicate that in 2005, the country experienced an overall 32.73 per cent increase of ICT usage during the previous twelve months, in addition to a 76 per cent increase of internet users during the same period as a result of price reductions and speed upgrades.

NETGEAR's decision to appoint a local Qatari representative is in line with its strategy to expand regional network by offering customers specialised and localised services to their requirements rather than addressing it remotely. NETGEAR's decision to leave behind fast growing Saudi market and to make Qatar as its first Gulf post outside the UAE has surprised many other vendors. The company considered expansion in many locations and chose Qatar because of its tremendous economic growth rate.

'As a leading global networking solutions provider, NETGEAR aims to capitalize on the buoyant ICT industry in the Middle East to expand our presence in the region. In addition to market growth, our decision to expand to Qatar is based on recent initiatives introduced to attract the Research and Development (R&D) departments of international vendors, as this means our R&D team will be closer to a significant customer base,' said Salman Kaldari, Deputy General Manager, NETGEAR Middle East.

NETGEAR has already established channel distribution partners, including Jumbo Electronics and Al Jarir Bookstore, to stagger its products onto the Qatari market and enhance its regional reach. The Madar reports predict that the demand for ICT products, such as NETGEAR's networking products, is likely to continue increasing as enhanced internet connectivity coupled with enlarged spending on personal computers will usher in high levels of growth throughout the region.

NETGEAR had recently been awarded the 2006 IT Weekly Arab Technology Award for the 'Best New Networking Company' in the Middle East, during the recently concluded GITEX 2006. The company's portfolio of award-winning products enable users to share Internet access, peripherals, files, digital multimedia content and applications among multiple personal computers and other Internet-enabled devices.