MindTree, a global IT solutions company, is stepping up its efforts to leverage the Middle East IT services market, which is expected to hit $3.5 billion by 2011, according to recent reports from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Identified by the company as one of its fastest growing regions, the Middle East forms part of MindTree’s ‘Rest of the World’ (ROW) market along with Japan, Australia and Singapore, which collectively contributed 10.8 per cent to its total earnings in the third quarter of the financial year 2009-’10.

MindTree is taking particular interest in Bahrain, with EIU forecasting that the country’s IT services market, along with that of Qatar, Oman, and Jordan, will grow annually by 10 per cent to reach $0.53 billion by 2011, a statement said.

MindTree is gearing up to address the need by further strengthening its alliance management, boosting its sales force, initiating and reinforcing strategic partnerships with local companies, and focusing on key sectors such as the government and the manufacturing industry.

“Following the decline in 2009, the IT services market in the Middle East region is poised for another round of growth in 2010,” said Anjan Lahiri, president and CEO - IT services, MindTree.

“Companies in the region are becoming increasingly interested in deploying high-end technologies to gain competitive advantage and save costs,” he added.

“Through the years, MindTree has partnered with major technology players in the region, and delivered leading edge solutions to our customers.”

The demand for decision-makers to have access to accurate intelligence at their fingertips is also driving the growth of data warehousing and business intelligence in the Middle East, particularly in Bahrain, he said.

Going beyond Bahrain, MindTree has also outlined specific plans to work with strategic local partners for markets such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait following its success in Oman, Bahrain, and UAE, the statement added. – TradeArabia News Service