IDC Research shows enterprise application software markets are defying political unrest in Arab Middle East and North Africa

Referencing its newly released 'Arab Middle East and North Africa Enterprise Application Software Market 2012-2016 Forecast and 2011 Vendor Shares (IDC #ZR01U) study, the research firm said that large enterprises, particularly those from the agriculture, mining and construction, banking, education, and wholesale sectors, were the primary drivers of EAS spending in the region last year.

"Political turmoil in several countries in the MENA region has delayed planned investments and stifled market growth," says Dhiraj Daryani, research manager for software at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. "And while large vendors have managed to continue growing during these trying times, this has come at the expense of smaller vendors, which have struggled to close deals. Looking ahead, vendors will be able to capitalize on the enormous opportunities presented in offering advanced EAS functionalities to their existing customer bases. Enterprises are seeking tighter integration of disparate systems, and customers want to invest in efficient planning, reporting, risk, and profitability analytics, a combination that will lead to strong demand for mobile platforms and applications that are tightly integrated with back-end EAS systems."

All MENA markets expanded in 2011, with the exception of Egypt, where spending on EAS solutions contracted sharply when compared to 2010. Saudi Arabia was the region's fastest-growing market, followed by the UAE. Meanwhile, growth in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), the Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria), and the Other Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar) was relatively slower. Saudi Arabia remained the largest market in the MENA region, followed in second place by the UAE. The OGCC countries ranked third, while North Africa placed fourth and Egypt took fifth spot. The Levant grouping was the smallest EAS market in the MENA region in 2011.

Reflecting this near-universal growth, EAS license and maintenance (L&M) spending in the MENA region increased 4.5% year on year in 2011 to total $480.56 million. The biggest spenders were process manufacturing companies, which accounted for 18.8% of the market. The government sector was the second-largest vertical market, with 13.8% share, while combined finance ranked third, with 12.0% of the total market.

The region's EAS market continues to be dominated by the global giants SAP and Oracle. SAP remained the largest EAS vendor in MENA in 2011, with 38.0% share of the market, while Oracle placed second, with 34.4% share. Microsoft Dynamics held on to third spot with 9.1% share. The top ten vendors together captured 94.4% of total EAS spending in the MENA region in 2011.

IDC's Arab Middle East and North Africa Enterprise Application Software Market 2012-2016 Forecast and 2011 Vendor Shares (IDC #ZR01U) study provides an overview of the MENA market for integrated EAS suites. The EAS vendors tracked in this study include 3i Infotech, Applied Computer Services, Caciopee, Epicor, Exact Software, Focus Softnet, IFS, Infor, Involys, Lawson Software, Microsoft, Oracle, QAD, Sage, and SAP. The study provides detailed qualitative and quantitative information, analysis, and forecasts that help illustrate the size and other defining characteristics of the market, leading players and their positioning, which industries are investing in EAS solutions, and how region-specific political and economic conditions affect the MENA market.