To date, Middle East users have stuck with a handful of tried and tested international brands, and businesses have been cautious about investing in domestic resources, preferring instead to outsource, to lower costs and contain the risk of creating a new product. However, there are signs of a new wave of native app development emerging.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai is one of the leading investing countries in IT technologies in the Middle East region. That does not mean growth of cloud applications is limited in the other country as compared to other technologically developed countries. The growth of cloud applications is mainly driven by the initiatives undertaken by local government entities to foster the adoption of new technologies and increase awareness of the benefits of cloud-based enterprise applications among enterprises. The cloud application vendors have focused on expanding their presence in middle east by partnering with local vendors, which is further expected to drive the adoption of cloud applications in the region.
The global middle east cloud applications market size was estimated at 2.0 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 4.5 billion by 2024. The Middle East generates various stereotypes and perceptions from both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, it is considered to be a region with political tension and instability. On the other, it is looked as a home to affluence and exuberance. While there can be truths unearthed for each of these scenarios, the main point to note is that the Middle East is complex and diverse. Thanks to various global events taking place, the region will become more and more visible and potentially more attractive to businesses currently located outside of the region.
The region has gained its wealth in large due to its oil trade. However, many of these states are taking proactive steps in order to diversify their economies. This opens up the field of opportunity to various industries which generally have low entry barriers. One of the priority industries is technology, which is being used to drive growth.