Leading global IT solutions provider MindTree has announced that it is stepping up its efforts to leverage the Middle East IT services market, which is expected to hit $3.5 billion by next year, according to 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' market along with Japan, Australia and Singapore, which collectively contributed 10.8 per cent to its total earnings in the third quarter of 2009-10 financial year.

MindTree sees the Middle East region to play a key role in its plan to become a billion-dollar organisation.

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 next year.

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. Companies in the region are becoming increasingly interested in deploying high-end technologies to gain competitive advantage and save costs,' said MindTree IT Services president and chief executive Anjan Lahiri.

'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.

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.

Specialising in IT services and ERP, independent testing, infrastructure services, and analytics, MindTree has completed a number of high-profile implementations for several prestigious organisations in the region.

The company also maintains strong relationships with Oracle (Oracle Partner), SAP (Partner Edge Status), IBM and Microsoft (Service Ready Partner).-TradeArabia News Service