Dubai Internet City in new drive to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabian ICT sector

The DIC Community Pavilion at Gitex Saudi, this year, has a mix of dynamic and innovative companies that offer ICT solutions in high-potential niche markets. The companies - eHosting Datafort, Africa Digital Bridges, Madar Research, Focus SoftNet, Hitech Payment Systems (HPS) and Fourstars.net - represent a new breed of regional players that are enriching the market with cutting-edge products and services that address the changing needs of the region.

'Saudi Arabia is the largest and fastest growing ICT market in the region with tremendous potential for growth in a wide range of areas,' said Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, CEO of Dubai Internet City. 'The spread of new information and communication technologies (ICT) in Saudi Arabia is creating exceptional opportunities for providers of ICT tools and services. Dubai Internet City is keen to help its business partners develop their business in such high-growth markets and the Community Pavilion at Gitex Saudi will be a strategic platform for them to strengthen their brands and build further relationships in the market,' he added.

Saudi Arabia's ICT sector has been witnessing phenomenal growth over the last few years drawing the keen interest of ICT businesses all over the world. According to estimates, ICT spending in the Kingdom accounts for over 40% of all regional sales.

One of the sectors expected to grow rapidly is outsourced technology services. eHosting DataFort, a company created as an administrative consolidation of e-Hosting Center and DataFort - subsidiaries of the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone, is participating in the DIC Community Pavilion to scout for partnerships in the Saudi market. The company provides a range of world-class managed hosting, disaster recover and security services to serve the critical infrastructure needs of regional enterprises.

Hyderabad, India-based Focus SoftNet (www.focussoftnet.com) is another company seeking to tap the emerging outsourced services market. With more and more Middle East companies outsourcing their software needs to the sub-continent, Indian software development companies are taking notice of the significant market opportunity that the region represents. The company is participating in the Dubai Internet City Community Pavilion to tell the Saudi market about its enterprise solutions, the best known of which are its commercial accounting software and Focus5 application for the mid-range ERP software market.

Fourstars.net (www.fourstars.net), another participant in the DIC Community Pavilion, addresses the wide strategy, implementation and hosting requirements of regional enterprises and provides services that effectively manage the business and technology complexities involved in these. Fourstars.net brings together the world's best technologies to address the critical business imperatives of its clients.

The widespread adoption of e-commerce in the region is creating exceptional opportunities for providers of e-commerce tools and solutions. Morocco-based Hitech Payment Systems (HPS - www.hps.ma) provides end-to-end solutions in a major e-commerce segment - electronic payment. The company provides tailor-made solutions for a range of electronic payment systems under the brand PowerCARD. HPS supports its customers during the whole life cycle of the electronic payment system.

Despite the huge ICT growth in the Middle East, there is a risk that its benefits will not reach a large section of the population, thus expanding what is called the digital divide. Digital Africa Bridges (ADB - http://africa-digitalbridges.com/), another participant in the DIC Pavilion, has the unique mission of bringing affordable and mobile computers to the developing world. ADB currently markets the Encore Simputer, a radically simple and cheap portable computer that can bring information technology to poorer sections of the people in the developing world.

While the Middle East is one of the fastest growing information and communication technology (ICT) markets in the world, this growth is hampered by the lack of relevant market data and research that is in-depth, reliable and timely. Madar Research Group (www.madarresearch.com), the sixth company in the Dubai Internet City pavilion, aims to fill the void in the region for primary and secondary research by creating a unique source of authoritative information through its research center, publications, events and online presence.

This is the second time that Dubai Internet City is participating in Gitex Saudi with a Community Pavilion. The companies in this year's Community Pavilion are a small sample of the quickly evolving ICT community at Dubai Internet City, which today is home to more than 450 companies. Dubai Internet City is part of the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone, a commercial zone initiated by the Dubai Government to provide the infrastructure and environment to support the growth of knowledge-economy companies. The Free Zone, which has expanded rapidly in the last three years since its launch, has witnessed investments to the tune of a billion dollars.