NEWS
SAP announces cloud datacentre , $ 200M investment in UAE
SAP announced a five-year $ 200 million investment in the UAE , underpinning objectives outlined by the UAE Vision 2021 plan to create economic diversity and jobs for youth . Senior officials participated in the official ribbon-cutting VIP ceremony and inaugurated the new SAP MENA headquarters in Dubai Internet City .
SAP also announced plans to establish its first SAP Cloud Datacentre in the UAE in 2017 . Through the datacentre , organisations will be able to benefit from SAP cloud solutions , harnessing the realtime capabilities of the powerful in-memory platform , SAP HANA . The SAP datacentre will accelerate innovative business models especially for the UAE ’ s government , banking and finance and healthcare sectors . A recent report from Gartner shows that the MENA public cloud services market is set to roughly double , from about $ 1 billion in 2016 to about $ 2 billion in 2020 .
SAP , which was recently announced as a Premier Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai , also launched its first Co-Innovation Lab in the UAE , its 15th lab across the globe , facilitating project-based co-innovation with customers and partners . SAP Co-Innovation Labs , located in high-tech clusters around the globe , provide opportunities to foster innovations with local ecosystems .
The lab offers a hands-on development environment and a structured and guided global approach for companies to co-innovate with SAP . In the region , the Lab is focused on innovative services for banks and real estate companies to provide an immersive virtual and augmented reality experience for homebuyers . The lab will also act as an enabler and primary access point for SAP ’ s IoT platform - SAP Leonardo , in the region .
The new SAP headquarters will
Steve Tzikakis , Regional President and General Manager , SAP South Europe , Middle East , and Africa
serve as the hub for SAP ’ s Training and Development Institute . The Institute has upskilled thousands of students and young graduates , and successfully implemented programs to sponsor and empower entrepreneurs in the UAE and across the region . The Institute is committed to develop local talent , hiring millennials , and supporting women in the workforce .
Software spending fastest growing component of MENA IT industry
Peter Sondergaard , Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research at Gartner
Middle East and North Africa IT spending is projected to reach $ 156 billion in 2017 a 2.4 % increase from 2016 , according to the latest forecast by Gartner . Analysts said the key vertical segments driving IT spending growth include the communications , media and services , banking and securities , manufacturing and utilities markets .
The devices segment will represent nearly 17 % of total IT spending in 2017 . This market is expected to grow 4 % this year , mainly due to a strong increase in mobile phone expenditure . Other devices , which include PCs are forecast for negative growth .
Datacentre systems will see an overall growth of 6 % in 2017 , versus flat performance in 2016 , due to increase in demand for servers and unified communications . Software spending is forecast to increase 9 %, with enterprise application software projected to grow 13 % and infrastructure software spending to increase 6 %. IT services will post 4 % growth , with business IT services reaching nearly 5 % growth this year . Consumer mobile services
will represent close to 60 % of the total expenditures in communication services .
CIOs will participate in the building of a new digital platform with intelligence at the centre . That platform will enable ecosystems , connecting businesses and collapsing industries . Gartner analysts said it will change society itself , and the way people live . The new digital platform consists of five domains : traditional IT systems , customer experience , The Internet of Things , an ecosystem foundation and the intelligence platform that ties all the domains together .
CIOs in the Gulf Cooperation Council are ideally positioned to become global leaders in digital transformation and innovation , according to Gartner . As enterprises in the GCC nations of Bahrain , Kuwait , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates grow and find their place on the world stage , digital ecosystem participation will be a vital element in their success .
8 Issue 05 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS