In order to better understand the current and future prospects of ICT industry in the Middle East, RNCOS has done thorough analysis of ICT industry across various Middle East countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

Various countries such as UAE and Egypt have been working on ICT infrastructure development projects in order to attract foreign IT and telecom investment. UAE, for instance, is all set to become the ICT hub in the Middle East region, bolstering advantages of its free trade zones and the Dubai Internet City, says the analyst. In terms of future growth of the IT industry in the Middle Eastern countries, Qatar is on the top, followed by Kuwait and Turkey. However, in terms of value, Turkey is number one followed by Israel. Owing to the development of new markets for digital applications and content, the number of broadband connections, is rising across the region.

With the growth in ICT industry, opportunities emerge in the field of 3G, WiMAX, IT outsourcing and so on. It serves as a big opportunity for the Middle East telecom operators to establish strategic partnerships and carry out their business activities in the region. This will also bring a shift in the current model of value-added services.

The robust economic growth, rising disposable income, booming industrial sectors (such as oil industry, retail industry, banking industry, insurance industry) and increasing investment in infrastructure development have been among the factors that have put Middle East on the global ICT map, says "Middle East ICT Market Analysis”, our recent report. For the purpose of this report, Middle East includes Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

Although the Middle East countries face enormous obstacles to sustaining growth, booming industrial sector is playing greater role in promoting reforms and global competitiveness. This trend, coupled with regional government initiatives, such as liberalization and privatization of the telecom industry and setting up of technology parks, are fostering growth in the Middle East ICT industry.

There has been growing demand for ICT products and services among residential and corporate segment. Penetration in mobile market has already surpassed 100% in some of the countries. According to the report, the UAE, followed by Qatar and Bahrain, enjoys the most developed mobile network infrastructure among the Middle East countries with mobile penetration rate exceeding 145% in 2007. It also identifies the country that currently enjoys highest Internet and broadband penetration rate in the region.

Anticipating its future growth potential, foreign companies are frequently announcing their business expansion in the Middle East and many are evaluating to do so. In this regard, the study helps clients to analyze the opportunities and factors critical to the success of the ICT industry in the region. It also provides extensive research on historic and future performance of the IT industry at country level, including hardware industry, software industry and services industry. Forces that are fuelling growth in various segments have also been discussed in detail.

The research also covers overview of the Middle East telecommunication industry, helping the clients to evaluate and analyze the present and future scenario of mobile telephony, fixed telephony, Internet and broadband in various Middle East countries. It also gives an insight into various opportunities emerging in the field of 3G, WiMAX and IT outsourcing. 

The report provides four-year industry forecast (2008-2012) on various IT and telecom segments of leading countries analyzed as part of this research. The forecasts are given on:

- IT Industry
- Hardware Market
- Packaged Software Market 
- IT Services Market
- Fixed-line Telephones
- Mobile Subscribers
- Internet & Broadband Subscribers
- Emerging Market: 3G (for those countries who have 3G as commercially launched service)

http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM562.htm