-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueWhat's Your Sweet Spot?
Are you in a niche that’s growing or shrinking? Is it time to reassess and refocus? We spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche. What are their insights?
Moving Forward With Confidence
In this issue, we focus on sales and quoting, workforce training, new IPC leadership in the U.S. and Canada, the effects of tariffs, CFX standards, and much more—all designed to provide perspective as you move through the cloud bank of today's shifting economic market.
Intelligent Test and Inspection
Are you ready to explore the cutting-edge advancements shaping the electronics manufacturing industry? The May 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine is packed with insights, innovations, and expert perspectives that you won’t want to miss.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Gartner Forecasts MENA IT Spending to Grow 4% in 2024
September 20, 2023 | Gartner, Inc.Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is forecast to accelerate in 2024, increasing 4% from 2023, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.
MENA’s IT spending is projected to total $183.8 billion in 2024, up from $176.8 billion in 2023. In comparison, global IT spending is projected to total $5.1 trillion in 2024.
“IT spending in MENA is increasing because organizations, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, continue to focus on digitalizing their IT infrastructure,” said Miriam Burt, Managing VP Analyst at Gartner. “This is required to support regional governments’ push to implement their country visions for economic diversification, enhance public-private collaboration as well as bolster sustainability efforts towards net-zero targets.”
Software and IT Services Spending to Record Double-Digit Growth
MENA software spending is expected to record double-digit growth of 12.3% in 2024, followed by IT services spending, growing at 11.1%. “Organizations in MENA will invest more in software and IT services to accelerate digitalization and streamline operations by continuing cloud migration efforts and increasing automation and IoT capabilities. The spending will also be targeted to enforce compliance with regulation,” said Burt. “By 2024, we expect local organizations to increase their spending on embedding artificial intelligence (AI) into their strategic business and IT planning. Improving data management to yield greater monetization as well as strengthening cybersecurity security and risk management will remain top spending priorities in the region.”
The devices segment is forecast to experience an upturn in 2024. Devices spending in MENA is projected to increase 0.6% in 2024, up from a decline of 9.9% in 2023.
“The return to growth in devices spending can be attributed to various factors such as the growing aspiration of consumers in the region to own smartphones, aggressive marketing campaigns for new product launches by premium brands and the steady shift towards 5G for improved coverage, speed and consistency,” said Burt. “Higher affordability through greater access to financing options - such as buy now pay later (BNPL) - as well as the increasing number of ways to make digital payments through smartphones are also contributing to the recovery in the segment.”
Increased Focus on Generative AI
Gartner predicts that by 2024, 40% of enterprise applications will have embedded conversational AI, up from less than 5% in 2020. “Despite economic challenges, business executives in the MENA region are primarily investing in generative AI (GenAI) to enhance customer experience,” said Eyad Tachwali, Sr Director Advisory at Gartner. “GenAI promises to revolutionize public and private sector engagement with customers/citizens by delivering personalized, real-time solutions to complex inquiries.”
Successful regional business and IT leaders are employing agile methodologies in their generative AI initiatives, focusing on quick testing and refinement while eliminating low-impact use cases. Currently, most MENA organizations are exploring the potential of GenAI by focusing on emerging use cases, such as generative value messaging (turning customer data quickly into customized content), coding assistance (translation of code from older coding languages).
“In the future, a cautious yet deliberate integration of GenAI is anticipated as local businesses continue to evolve their AI strategies and pinpoint specific use-cases. This will primarily be facilitated through upgrades to tools already included in existing IT budgets,” said Tachwali.
Suggested Items
TRI Unveils New Multi-Camera AOI, TR7500 SIII Ultra
07/01/2025 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading test and inspection systems provider for the electronics manufacturing industry, proudly introduces the new TR7500 SIII Ultra.
SMT007 Magazine July—What’s Your Competitive Sweet Spot?
07/01/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamAre you in a niche that’s growing or shrinking? Is it time to reassess and refocus? We spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche—what are their insights? In the July 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine, we spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche and offer insights to help you evaluate your own.
TRI Unveils New Multi-Camera AOI, TR7500 SIII Ultra
06/27/2025 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading test and inspection systems provider for the electronics manufacturing industry, proudly introduces the new TR7500 SIII Ultra.
NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Shipments Expected to Rise Amid Market Uncertainties
06/24/2025 | TrendForceThe NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 has recently generated significant buzz in the market, with expectations running high for strong shipment performance driven by solid demand.
Green Circuits Boosts Test Capacity with New Takaya APT-1600FD System
06/24/2025 | Green CircuitsGreen Circuits, a full-service Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) partner to leading OEMs, is pleased to announce the purchase of its fourth Takaya APT-1600FD Double-sided Flying Probe Test System.