Oil & gas, telecoms and real estate sectors drive Saudi Arabian IT market to reach $5bn by 2012

The Kingdom's efforts to promote the growth of its non-oil verticals present IT vendors with extensive opportunities to leverage this market, which accounts for 40% of the Middle East's IT spending. In line with this, NETGEAR, a worldwide provider of technologically advanced and branded networking products, has partnered with ICC, an established IT company in KSA, to leverage the burgeoning demand for networking products in the country.

The recently signed agreement outlines a strategic plan to push NETGEAR's solutions to corporate enterprises, which include the ProSafe Wireless VPN Firewalls, a complete network security solution that connects top management personnel with remote branches, in addition to other robust solutions in its extensive product portfolio for the SMB sector. As a value-added partner, ICC will highlight the strengths of NETGEAR products to leading industry players and the KSA Government, whose growing IT investments include $32bn worth of technology infrastructure projects in Riyadh.

"As we continue to maintain a leading position in the Saudi market, we recognise the importance of establishing strong alliances with leading IT companies such as ICC,"

said Ahmad Zeidan, Channel Sales Manager, NETGEAR Middle East.

"As our value-added partner, they will be showcasing our products in 13 of their branches and in most of their showrooms especially in areas such as Taef, Yanbu, Buraida, Makkah and Madeena. We are definitely looking forward to working together with ICC, who pledged their support in our aims to capture a greater share of the KSA market," he added.

With a clear vision to establish a reputable name in the IT industry, ICC has witnessed tremendous success over the years, recording revenues of more than SR227m in 2006. Operationally, the ICC Group has grown horizontally with six strategic business units under its banner, namely ICC Distribution, Dawliah Digital Store, ICC Solution, ZAI Technology, ICC Digital Store and ICC Enterprises. The multifaceted organization owes its success to its dedicated and dynamic manpower, which has grown to comprise 300 personnel in 2006.

"This partnership with NETGEAR will make available technologically-driven solutions to KSA's most important industries, which will help them maximise the opportunities within this booming market. While providing high-end solutions to multinational corporations, we will also bring forward NETGEAR's products to small to medium businesses. As the heart of the Kingdom's trading community, we want to provide them with the tools to ensure that they benefit from innovations that can help increase their productivity,"

concluded Dr. Basheer Al-Jabri, President, ICC Group.