18th June 2007

GITEX BUSINESS SOLUTIONS TO WELCOME WORLD'S LARGEST TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

2007's Double Digit of Growth in Office Technology Sales set to Increase at Region's Largest IT Procurement Platform

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The ongoing regional development of major government, energy, and utility implementations is creating huge opportunities for international ICT companies attending GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, say organisers.

This year's exhibition will offer a dedicated event for government, enterprise and SMB solution providers running across Halls One to Eight of Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), under the banner of "GITEX Business Solutions."

The aim of GITEX Business Solutions is to build upon the exhibition's position as the region's largest IT procurement platform, by providing focused areas for technology organisations to network with the thousands of senior technology managers and chief information officers set to visit the high profile event.

As one of the world's top three technology exhibitions, GITEX has a long and successful history of enabling major business development for local and global business solution providers, and organisers are confident that the new focus of the event will increase the volume and value of business opportunities generated.

2007 has already seen new records set for the sales of computer and office technology in every country in the GCC region, and the event is set to drive these numbers still further.

"The region's IT industry is making major strides in terms of the scale of the projects being undertaken and the heightened sophistication of the solutions required. Given the increasingly specific demands of today's chief information officers, DWTC has worked hard to create an environment where trade visitors can meet quickly and efficiently with a targeted community of potential suppliers," said Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai World Trade Centre.

GITEX BUSINESS SOLUTIONS aims to provide three distinct areas for Network & Security, Office Technology & Supplies, and IT Solutions.


Major GITEX Business Solutions exhibitors busy at GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK

GULFCOMMS and Consumer Electronics will join GITEX Business Solutions as distinct, yet closely related events providing focused forums for key buyers and decision-makers as part of GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK.

Exhibitors have welcomed the revamped format, aiming to build on the robust performance of previous years by developing new opportunities with the senior decision-makers present at the event.

Ken Willett, HP's Vice President and Managing Director Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa (MEMA), said: "GITEX Business Solutions provides an ideal focus point for HP's diverse range of offerings, which includes IT infrastructure, imaging and printing solutions and desktop computers capable of meeting the needs of small and large businesses. Our end-to-end IT product portfolio will generate a strong response from the senior executives set to visit the exhibition."

2007 has seen major growth in the office technology sector, with computer sales rising by 23 percent in the first quarter of this year to 632,000 units, partly due to major bulk purchases by governments and energy firms, according to figures from research firm IDC.

Sales data shows that nearly every country in the GCC achieved double-digit growth compared with the year-earlier period.

The top suppliers of desktop and notebook computers will be represented at GITEX Business Solutions, including Lenovo, Brother and Acer Computer. As well as running live demonstrations of its entire product range, Acer will host senior managers to discuss specific customer issues in a one-to-one environment, to further boost the high-level atmosphere of GITEX Business Solutions.

"GITEX Technology Week is all about the calibre of the trade visitors. We want to make the exhibition about our customers and more than satisfy the demands they place on us, be it for products or for IT support," said Krishna Murthy, General Manager, Acer Computer Middle East.

Major players in the Network & Security sector are also eagerly anticipating the enhanced format of this year's event.

Cisco CEO John Chambers recently praised the performance of the networking vendor's Middle East operation, highlighting "very strong order growth" in the MEA region as a contributing factor to the networking vendor's impressive results. Cisco reported a US$1.9 billion net profit on sales up 21% year-on-year to US$8.9 billion for the three months to the end of April.

Leading IT solutions providers such as SAP, Oracle, and CA will also be marking their presence at this year's show by offering custom-made solutions that can help companies streamline and transform their business processes.

Essam Enany, President, SAP Arabia said: "GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK is the region's leading platform for IT companies to meet with partners and customers, and SAP Arabia has high expectations for the show's ability to profile SAP as the industry leader and visionary company that it has become across the Middle East."

The structure of GITEX BUSINESS SOLUTIONS is poised to meet the demands of a rapidly developing IT solutions market, with industry analysis from IDC estimating that the IT services market in the UAE alone will grow to over US$1 billion by 2010.

GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK will run from 8-12 September 2007 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and held in association with GITEX Shopper, which takes place from the 6-12 September 2007 at the Airport Expo Dubai.