IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is forecast to total $1.7 billion in 2022, an increase of 2.6% from 2021, according to a recent forecast by Gartner.
“The recovery of the IT sector in MENA will continue in 2022,” said Miriam Burt, Managing Vice President at Gartner. “In 2022, digital transformation projects will advance moderately from 2021. Underpinned by the GCC Country Visions, the rapid shift of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from an oil-exporting economy to a knowledge-based economy will be a major influence.”
The rise of renewable energy and the subsequent dip in oil prices due to COVID-19 expedited the transition towards a knowledge-based economy to reduce the regions’ dependency on oil exports. Additionally, the direction and guidance from the various governments of the GCC in their country vision statements, the advent of 5G, increase in digitally skilled local workforce, and rapid digitalization of sectors such as banking and retail, will present a growth-conducive environment for IT spending in the region through 2022.
Communication services will continue to be the largest segment in 2022, making up 66% of total IT spending in 2022. IT services will emerge as the fastest growing segment in MENA in 2022, forecasted to grow 8.6%, followed by the software segment which is expected to grow 8.2%.
MENA IT Spending Forecast (Millions of U.S. Dollars)
| 2020 Spending | 2020 Growth (%) | 2021 Spending | 2021 Growth (%) | 2022 Spending | 2022 Growth (%) | |
| Communications Services | 109,642 | -0.6 | 110,402 | 0.6 | 112,583 | 2 |
| Data Center Systems | 3,145 | 3 | 3,314 | 5.4 | 3,415 | 3 |
| Devices | 26,870 | -5.6 | 28,152 | 4.8 | 28,083 | -0.2 |
| IT Services | 13,555 | 1.7 | 14,887 | 9.8 | 16,174 | 8.6 |
| Software | 8,052 | 12.4 | 8,893 | 10.4 | 9,628 | 8.2 |
| Overall IT | 161,264 | -0.6 | 165,648 | 2.7 | 169,883 | 2.6 |
Source: Gartner (November 2021)
Devices will be the only segment expected to decline in 2022. In 2021, the pandemic response was a primary reason for the uptick in spending on devices. This trend will stabilise in 2022 as MENA CIOs will work on advancing their remote/hybrid working models, virtual learning, digital commerce and tele-medicine projects.
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