Global ICT investments hit $233bn — IDC

The information and communications technology sector of the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa will attract $233.8bn in 2023 according to the International Data Corporation.

The consumer insight firm said this would signify an over 3.9 per cent increase from what was invested in 2022. The IDC stated this in a gathering of technology vendors, telecommunications operators, and IT service providers during the 2023 edition of IDC Directions Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa.

While announcing its regional forecasts for 2023, IDC revealed that it expected telecommunications services spending to increase by 3.6 per cent year on year in 2023 to $133.9bn, with IT spending set to grow 4.3 per cent YoY to $99.9bn.

It also stated that the region’s digital economy would push digital transformation spending to $48.8bn.

The IDC’s Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director for the META region, Jyoti Lalchandani, said, “The region will continue to face several headwinds throughout 2023, including volatile demand, high inflation, interest rate hikes, supply chain uncertainties, and currency fluctuations.

“In order to navigate these storms of disruption, organisations will need to invest in strengthening their digital resiliency so they are better positioned to succeed in new market environments as conditions continue to change.

“Regardless of what the economy throws at us over the coming 12 months, the implementation of further digitalisation in critical areas such as customer experience, operations, and financial management — together with a more rapid shift to a ‘digital business’ approach — will be key to separating the thrivers from the survivors.

“To this end, we expect to see digital transformation spending as a share of overall IT spending continue to grow, reaching 43.2 per cent in 2026, up from just 29.4 per cent in 2021.”