IDC: market for IT services in UAE postes considerable growth in 2012

"Consulting services grew significantly as UAE organizations invested in consulting around business process improvements, operational efficiency, and IT security, in particular," said Omar Saleem, senior analyst with the IT services team at IDC Middle East and Africa.

"In response to the demand, an increasing number of services providers have been investing in their consulting capabilities to target clients across key verticals such as government, energy, utilities, telecommunications, banking, finance, transportation, and manufacturing," added Saleem.

Interest in IT consulting services has also grown significantly as organizations strive to align their IT systems with business objectives. Most IT heads in the UAE understand the importance of standardizing their IT environment to support smooth business operations. This has led to investment in technologies and consulting services related to process optimization and efficiency improvements.

"Given recent security attacks in the region, security consulting services have also taken off as IT heads aim to better secure their internal data," said Saleem.

With large IT transformation projects currently underway in the government sector, demand for information systems consulting services is high. IT services providers are advised to invest in their resources and capabilities to support consulting-led engagements that, coupled with integration services, satisfy the ever-changing business requirements of their clients.

Consulting services are expected to continue recording healthy growth as organizations continue to consolidate their operations, optimize their processes, reduce risks, improve profit margins, and target new clients.

IDC's Competitive Profiles and Analysis of Leading IT Services Players in United Arab Emirates, 2012, and United Arab Emirates IT Services Market 2012-2016 Forecast and 2011 Analysis are extensive studies that IDC undertakes on an annual basis, drawing upon interviews with more than 80 service providers in the United Arab Emirates.

The studies summarize the key findings by service and investments in verticals and provides a comparative analysis of the 10 largest IT service providers in the United Arab Emirates, as well as a forecast for the next five years.