GITEX Technology Week, region's top ICT event, opens today Sunday in Dubai, UAE

Dubai: GITEX Technology Week, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region's top ICT event, opens tomorrow, Sunday 20th October, in Dubai with the world's leading brands revealing new products and services, and the industry's key decision makers driving thought leadership on the industry's opportunities and challenges across the region. The Middle East continues to be a booming market for the information and communication (ICT) industry with total spend projected to increase 5.5% from 2012 to USD 192.9 billion in 2013, according to IT research firm Gartner Inc. Driving the future of ICT in the Middle East and beyond is the 33rd edition of GITEX Technology Week, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from October 20-24 under the theme "Lets Create, Disrupt and Re-imagine Together", with Dubai Internet City as a strategic partner. More than 130,000 ICT professionals from 150 countries are set to attend the 2013 edition of GITEX Technology Week, with 80% of the world's leading ICT brands present. GITEX Technology Week has consistently driven results for businesses of all sizes, with 85% of the 2012 attendees saying the event met or exceeded their expectations for return-on-investment, according to Dubai World Trade Centre. Trixie Loh Mirmand, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre , said: "ICT trends like mobility, the cloud, and big data are commonly used industry buzzwords, however GITEX Technology Week is the MENASA region's only event that offers visitors an in-depth understanding of these concepts as well as knowledge on how they can be used to deliver enhanced ROI. GITEX Technology Week is again ready to set the standard for ICT thought leadership and business development for every attendee from small businesses to multinational corporations and government agencies." This year there will be substantial numbers of international exhibitors and visitors - new country participants hail from Belarus, Brazil, Finland, Kenya, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovenia, Tunisia and Ukraine. The official country partner of GITEX Technology Week is Serbia, under the auspices of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA), as the Eastern European country looks to boost trade ties with its rapidly-growing ICT-related companies. The show has also attracted a major new international partnership this year in the form of the GSMA Mobile 360 Series comes to the Middle East for the first time. The co-located GSMA Mobile 360 Series will attract high-profile executives in the mobile industry, as well as key regulatory and government representatives. GITEX Technology Week will also welcome back InfoComm MEA for the third successive year to assemble the widest range of audio visual (AV) systems and technologies in the region. Among the features appearing for the first time is the Big Data Conference. Supported by Diamond Sponsor Accenture and Platinum Sponsors Commvault and Huawei, the event is the first stand-alone session on what is one of the ICT industry's most compelling and challenging trends. Worldwide, IDC estimates that spending on Big Data technology and services will likely grow from USD3.2 billion in 2010 to USD16.9 billion in 2015, representing a CAGR of 40%, or about seven times that of the overall ICT market. According to IDC, over 40% of CIOs in the Middle East are currently scoping investments in analytics and Big Data technologies in 2013. GITEX Technology Week is also expanding on its ability to celebrate innovation and support local talent. The Cloud Awards will put a spotlight on cloud computing's contribution to the business community, while the GITEX Hot Stuff Awards is the largest consumer electronics gadget competition in the region. Adding to this competitive spirit is the Student Lab competition, which is sponsored by the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs (MoPA) and held in association with Google. A new exposure-enhancing and knowledge-sharing platform set to make an impression are the free to attend Smart Sessions. Sponsored by Kaspersky, a dedicated theatre will provide a powerful showcase for anyone with innovative solutions and insight. Featured activities include panel debates, discussions and interactive presentations. Smart Session topics include mobile apps solution trends, SME entrepreneurship, cyber security, social media and cyber security. Also new at GITEX this year is the GSM Exchange, a specialised international trading platform for mobile phone distributors, wholesalers and retailers. The organisation is representing a wide range of mobile distributors and showcasing mobile products from across the region at GITEX. As ever, Cloud will feature heavily. Now in its fourth year and taking place on 22 October, Cloud Confex, which is supported by Diamond Sponsor Etisalat and Platinum Sponsors Accenture and F5, is the largest and most influential event of its kind in the Middle East. Regional appetite for the emergent technology suggests it will be a big draw. Gartner predicts the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is projected to experience one of the highest global growth rates for public cloud services, increasing from 2012 to 2013 by 24.5% to USD 462.3 million. The UAE's cloud market in particular is primed for annual compound growth of 43.7% until 2016, according to a recent report from technology-focused market intelligence firm IDC. Also returning by popular demand is the Digital Strategies Forum on 23 October, which is sponsored by Gemalto and focuses on how the rules of business are being upended in a new, consumer-empowered era. Sponsored by the UAE Ministry of Finance, the government sector continues to attract the highest government participation of any trade event in the region. This year sees government participation up 25% compared to 2012. Another feature with enduring appeal is the GITEX Consumer Tech feature, which brings its usual eye-catching array of entertainment and leisure hardware, software and accessories, whereas the Network and Security Sector is looking forward to welcoming the world's top names dealing with biometric technologies, anti-virus/anti-spam solutions, security tools and services. GITEX Card Technology, meanwhile, has been updated to tackle everything from Near Field Communication to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and beyond. Throughout the show, the new Content Hub, sponsored by Lincoln, which is also the provider of the event's Official Technology Car, will provide an exciting world of live newsfeeds, social media alerts, interviews, breaking news and industry updates under one platform. Create GITEX Technology Week networking features include ConneXions, an event-specific virtual community inspired by the interface of social media applications, and the Midis Group-sponsored C-level Majlis Programme, which will continue to provide c-level executives the chance to network with likeminded peers. – Emirates News Agency, WAM