The companies in the Middle East and Africa region have invested around $10 billion to boost their system integration (SI) services last year, said an expert.

The SI services market in the region posted a solid growth in 2016 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.87 per cent, posing huge opportunities to bring solutions to new sectors, according to STME, the Middle East’s leading IT solutions provider and systems integrator.

Driven by a concern for automation, integrated approaches to business, and advancements in cloud technologies and virtualisation, it expected $387.85 billion would be invested annually in the global SI market by 2021, according to data published by MarketsandMarkets.

In line with the rapid evolution and adoption of technology, SI in the Middle East will also continue to witness a major boost, with demand expected to remain level or higher than current rates.

"Organizations turn to SI in pursuit of value creation through the collective pooling of resources, which accentuates spending effectiveness," remarked Ayman Al Bayaa, the chief executive of STME.

A leading player in the region, STME has established strategic partnerships with a broad range of IT system manufacturers, to enable the delivery of the best-of-breed solutions of any scale or complexity.

Between 2011 and 2016 when the industry witnessed phenomenal growth, communication, media and government sectors were the biggest contributors and in future, we expect this to shift in focus towards the healthcare, utilities, and services industries, stated Al Bayaa.

“Opportunity exists across the market for SI providers to tap this new business - from smaller organisations and unfamiliar industries alike - and new clients challenge providers to create new product and service developments. These opportunities should not be missed,” he added.

With brent crude currently standing at $54 per barrel, the sector is not immune to reduced budgets or challenging requirements for security, backup, networking, and other computing organisational requirements.

Clients facing budgetary constraints have provided an impetus for SI providers to develop bespoke strategies and new tactics, said the top official.

What is required next, said Al Bayaa, is a realignment of internal strategy to foster business growth.

“A drop in overall expenditure in the Mena region due to the fluctuation of oil prices could be the difference between survival and growth, so correct and appropriate strategies are needed to thrive in economic downturns,” he noted.

Due to global economic shockwaves from the energy and finance markets, organizations are looking for bottom line value creation, in addition to the productivity benefits of SI.

STME now offers solutions with future scalability options and bundles service and product offerings from different vendors – depending on restrictions and co-operation, he added.TradeArabia News Service