Global ERP major Scala posts regional growth of over 30 per cent in 2003

A senior official of Scala Middle East said the company, which specializes in cutting-edge collaborative ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions widely in use among corporates in the region, notched up a cumulative regional growth of 20 per cent in the last three years, while Saudi Arabia alone grew 200 per cent, a definite indicator of the Kingdom's growth potential in the regional ICT sector.

Mr. Ziad Aqrabawi, Regional Managing Director for Scala Business Solutions Middle East based in the Dubai Internet City (DIC) said: "According to a recent report of IDC (MENA), the ERP solutions market in the Middle East and North Africa region is set to grow by over 17 per cent to US$219 million by the end of 2006. This is a tremendous opportunity for Scala to grow in the regional market."

He said companies in the region were waking up to the advantages of putting in place ERP tools to streamline their business processes and demand for collaborative enterprise solutions such as the company's iScala was on a sharp rise.

Having an ERP solution like iScala is like a one-time panacea for businesses - it is integrated with CRM (Customer Relations Management) and SCM (Supply Chain Management) functions offering tremendous advantage," said Al-Akrabawi.

Commenting specifically on the Saudi Arabian market, the largest market for ERP solutions in the region, he said that Scala in the last three years had maintained an average annual revenue growth of 30 per cent.

The new clients who came on board Scala in 2003 included Arabian Tile Company Limited (ARTIC), part of the Aggad Group, MK Cables and Radisson SAS Riyadh, Yanbu and Jeddah. Scala had an upbeat third quarter in 2003 signing up large business houses like Abul Jadayel Beverages Inc., NESCO Group and Al Rashid Abetong, among others.

"What we are looking at is an estimated growth of 30-40 per cent for ERP solutions in Saudi Arabia alone in 2004, and Scala being one of the undisputed leaders in collaborative ERP solutions, is confident to reap the benefit of this growth," Al-Akrabawi said.

Mr. Samer Shafiq, Sales Manager for Scala Saudi Arabia, the partner of Scala Business Solutions in the Kingdom said: "The demand for Scala ERP solutions, particularly the collaborative ERP system iScala, has seen tremendous growth in 2003 and we added a host of new clients to our list of leading corporates in the Kingdom, who have all acclaimed our ERP tools in bringing efficiency and integration in the workplace to boost productivity."

In view of the growing opportunities in Saudi Arabia's ICT market, estimated to grow to US$4.5 billion by the end of 2005 by the pan-Arab knowledge economy research entity, Madar Research, Scala had expanded its presence in the Kingdom last year by opening two new offices in the Kingdom - in Dammam and Jeddah - complementing its earlier office in Riyadh.