UAE market for IT outsourcing to reach US$ 170.5 mln by 2010

The market for outsourced IT services in the UAE is projected to reach USD 170.5 mln in 2010 from the USD 81.27 mln recorded in 2006, according to the latest IDC reports.

Raqmiyat, a leading UAE-based Systems Integrator, has announced the completion of a number of outsourcing projects for major leading regional and international banks in the UAE. The company has also announced plans to strengthen its team and resources on hand to offer key outsourcing services including managed services, hosting and infrastructure services, information systems, software applications, network and desktop management services to various companies in the region.

According to IDC reports, the UAE’s IT market began experiencing unprecedented growth in 2005 and this led to the IT services market accounting for a total value of USD 413.73 mln. The study revealed that the continued economic prosperity in the country and a number of IT and general development initiatives by the UAE Government has increased the need for IT services. Outsourcing accounted for 15.3% of the total IT services market in 2005 and by the year 2010, the market is expected to comprise 22.4% of the local IT market’s earnings.

“The drivers of outsourcing make business sense in the UAE as they have done elsewhere in the world,” explained Tapas Roy, Chief Operating Officer, Raqmiyat.

“Businesses in the UAE will increasingly outsource to remain competitive. Again, the traditional triggers of increasing costs, flexibility in the management of resources, user satisfaction and reduction in cycle times have contributed to this trend. Added to these are factors such as leveraging the provider’s extensive investments in technology, methodologies and people, and reducing the burden of managing IT resources while retaining control of strategic decision making.”

Raqmiyat’s support services based in Dubai offer regional and international banks’ workforce a single point of contact and end-to-end support for the IT infrastructure and desktop applications. The company’s integrated services cover lower and higher levels of IT support, including all-in maintenance of devices, availability of ready stand-by units, relocation services, IT asset tracking and configuration management. Moreover, the company also guarantees timely resolution of incidents, which are classified by severity levels through Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that cover both on-site as well as off-site support.