Increased public spending in GCC drives ICT market

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Total public spending in the region is set to increase by more than 25% according to a recent report by Gulf Finance House.

As a result, there are more Government departments than ever before attending Gitex Technology Week which takes place at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), 19-23 October 2008.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of Gitex Technology Week said:

'Governments across the GCC have a substantial amount to invest in the public sector and we are bringing leading global ICT companies to their doorstep. Many are looking to increase the connectivity and efficiency of their operations to further enhance the region's services.'

'At Gitex Technology Week the world's leading solutions providers will be on hand to discuss the latest technology to help speed up public service processes,' he added.

Official offices from all over the UAE are taking part in this year's Gitex Technology Week including The Abu Dhabi Police Authority, Ajman Municipality, Centre for Documentation and Research, Dubai Airports, Dubai Airports Free Zone Authority, Dubai E-Government, Fujairah Free Zone Authority, H.H. The Ruler's Court, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior Naturalisation and Residency Administration, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labour, Prime Minister's Office, Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Free Zone.

Also attending from other government departments within the Middle East include the Bahrain E-Government and Knowledge Oasis Muscat.

Government organisations across the region are committed to developing an E-Government structure to allow residents access to many of the services in an electronic form. The initiative brings all of the services together in an integrated format, requiring advanced technological solutions.

E-Government schemes include the 'AskDubai' service, which facilitates interaction between the government and the public, and 'E-pay', a service created to facilitate and secure electronic payments for various government departments.

This year's Gitex Technology Week will incorporate a powerful week of dedicated trade events, including Gitex Business Solutions, GULFCOMMS and Consumer Electronics, as well as targeted networking initiatives designed to ensure the event covers the entire technology spectrum.

Key exhibitors including Blackberry, Dell, du, Etisalat, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Systems, Panasonic, Sharp and Symantec are among the major names that have committed to Gitex Technology Week.

To support the show's focus on high-level business development and strategic alliances, Gitex Technology Week Global Conference has expanded its programme to include an impressive 35 tracks of interactive discussion, featuring some of the world's leading industry experts on new generation technology.

The Chairman, and Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, will open this year's event with a keynote address. Mr. McNealy, who is acknowledged as one of the most influential global speakers, will be talking on the topic of 'How open source technology is driving economic growth and social progress'.

Some of the leading experts in the field of IT will be speaking at the event, including the Chief Information Officer of the multi billion dollar Aluminium firm, DUBAL, Ahmad Alumulla; Tariq Y. Elsadik, the Chief Information Officer at Abu Dhabi based conglomerate Al Fahim; Fadi Hindi, the Head of IT Planning and Enterprise Architecture for Dubai Customs and John Fitzgerald, CEO, Beyond Encryption Technologies.

In addition, Gitex Technology Week will present the exclusive Gitex Majlis, an executive business programme for CEOs and senior business professionals providing a networking forum, executive lounge and preferred priority seating at seminars, workshops and keynotes.

Innovation will also be on display in the world of electronic gaming, with the inaugural Gitex Digital Game World. Gitex Technology Week will provide a platform to discuss the business-to-business potential of this innovative market a series of developer workshops at the event, with specific emphasis on supporting the development of original Arabic games and software.

Taking place simultaneously at the Gitex Shopper & Consumer Electronics Expo regional teams will battle it out in a series of organised games and online tournaments, to win the opportunity to compete with the visiting world's best gamers in the 'Intel Extreme Masters' competition.
Gitex Shopper & Consumer Electronics Expo takes place at Airport Expo, Dubai, 18-24 October, 2008.