The International Data Corporation (IDC) has forecasted that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) spending in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) region will exceed $238 billion this year, marking a 4.5% increase from 2023. This surge comes alongside the burgeoning digital economy in the region, with digital transformation expenditure projected to soar to $59 billion in 2024. The IDC anticipates this figure to accelerate further, reaching $88 billion by 2027 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15%.
These insights were shared by the IDC during the 2024 edition of IDC Directions Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa, where over 400 senior executives from leading technology vendors, telecommunications companies, and IT service providers convened in Dubai. The conference, themed "Preparing Your Customers for an AI Everywhere Future," featured discussions on the evolving technological landscape.
According to Jyoti Lalchandani, Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director at IDC, AI spending in the META region is poised to surpass $3.0 billion in 2024, representing a 32% surge from the previous year. Lalchandani highlighted that the investment focus of end-user organizations is expected to shift from cost reduction to revenue growth strategies in the coming years.
"Across the META region, there is a clear appetite for AI in general and generative AI (GenAI) in particular," Lalchandani remarked. "Spending on AI is forecasted to reach $6.9 billion by 2027. However, organizations are questioning whether they are overemphasizing cost reduction and neglecting the potential of AI to drive revenue growth."
Crawford Del Prete, IDC President, hailed the emergence of GenAI as a transformative era in IT and customer engagement. Del Prete predicted that global spending on GenAI would exceed $150 billion by 2027. Thomas Meyer, IDC's Group Vice President for the EMEA region, emphasized the importance for tech vendors to develop responsible AI strategies to support customers in achieving ROI and significant business outcomes.
