Page 34 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2022

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

and continuous supervision from the Min- can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store, Informatics Award held various virtual ses-
istry of Health’s team. ‘Shlonik’ utilized the Google’s Play Store, and Huawei’s App Gal- sions to study a total of 308 projects from
latest tech solutions to monitor the compli- lery, and is available in five different lan- Kuwait and the Arab World. The sessions
ance of citizens who returned to Kuwait as guages: Arabic, English, Urdu, Tagalog, and has resulted in the nomination of 25 proj-
part of the government’s evacuation plan Bengali. Users can sign up via their phone ects to the judging panel, which consisted
in home quarantine instructions. The app and civil ID numbers. The app features an of many specialists and experts from 8 dif-
was also an essential tool to pair with the interactive COVID-19 assessment agent ferent Arab countries to select the winners.
smart wrist bracelet that was distributed to help each user know what to do next. 9 tech projects won the award for their cre-
at Kuwait International Airport to anyone The Qualification Committee and Judging ativity and innovation.
who underwent home quarantine. ‘Shlonik’ Panel of H.H. Sheikh Salem Al Ali Al Sabah

Analysys Mason’s Latest Forecast Predicts that
Small and Medium-Sized Businesses’ (Smbs’) IT
Spending will Increase to USD1.4 trillion in 2022

In the latest release of its SMB Technology
Forecaster, Analysys Mason predicts that IT
spending by SMBs will grow at a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% between
2022 and 2027. Cloud-based services will
drive this growth because they support a
distributed workforce, improve efficiency
and provide business resiliency. SMB IT
spending on cloud-based categories is
expected to grow from USD600 billion in
2022 to USD1.0 trillion in 2027. The SMB
Technology Forecaster helps IT vendors
and operators to pinpoint areas for revenue
growth. It provides granular insights into
SMB IT spending, split by technology
category, country, business size, industry
vertical and sales channel. future disruptions. release will be an essential tool for business
The key findings of the latest forecast • Hybrid working continues to influence IT leaders to help them to drive and protect
include the following. spending. Hybrid working environments their SMB revenue.” The Analysys Mason
• Spending will increase in 2022. SMB IT will continue to drive spending on SMB Technology Forecaster is an essential
spending is expected to grow by 5.9% collaboration and business applications, tool that helps clients to forecast, inform
year-on-year in 2022. This growth has as seen during the pandemic. SMBs and validate their marketing and channel
been limited by economic and political will shift from using freemium versions strategies with precision and confidence.
uncertainty, despite the optimistic view to paid offerings within these category It is underpinned by extensive primary
expressed by SMBs coming out of the areas. research, granular demand insights and
pandemic. Commenting on the forecast, Bob Takacs, macroeconomic data and is stress-tested
• Spending growth will increase over the Research Director and SMB IT practice to ensure accuracy and predictability. The
next 5 years. IT spending growth will leader at Analysys Mason, said, “Our latest SMB Technology Forecaster therefore
increase gradually over the next 5 years forecast reveals the shift in SMBs’ behavior enables our clients to answer business-
and will reach 8% year-on-year by 2027. and priorities since the pandemic. We see critical questions to protect and grow
• Three categories account for almost increased investments in categories driving their SMB revenue. The SMB Technology
half of all spending. Managed services, resiliency and efficiency. This includes Forecaster has spending forecasts for over
infrastructure and cyber security are key categories such as managed services, 130 IT categories, 19 industry verticals, 13
priorities for SMBs in 2022. Spending on infrastructure and cyber security.” He adds, business size segments and 5 channels.
these categories will account for 45% of “This is an important release because It therefore allows clients to support their
SMBs’ total spending on IT. SMBs are we accounted for the impact of three channel partners with evidence-based data
shifting their focus towards categories critical drivers including SMB’s changing on their market opportunity and to execute
that can help them to establish a behaviors post-pandemic, macroeconomic winning go-to-market strategies.
resilient IT environment in order to headwinds and the global political unrest.
enable business continuity and avoid Given these impacts to the ecosystem, this
34 JULY-AUGUST 2022