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Gitex eyes new benchmark, shaking off global outlook

Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011

Gulf News

Dubai: Financial uncertainty in global markets hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for Gitex Technology Week which is set to open on October 9, said a top official associated with Dubai’s biggest technology showcase.

Helal Saeed Al Merri, CEO of the Dubai World Trade Centre , told reporters yesterday that the event is expected to draw 130,000 visitors from 59 countries who will take in active kiosks and displays by more than 3,500 technology and internet companies.

“We are expecting a bigger turnout this year,” Al Merri said when asked by Gulf News if the Gitex show would eclipse recent years when the global economic crisis did have an impact.

“From the net space sold, it is the largest in our history,” he said, noting that year-on-year growth across the Middle East and North Africa and beyond has helped buoy a burgeoning technology industry in the region.

“We’re covering a wider region and we have a lot more visitors coming,” Al Merri said.

The exponential growth of Gitex can also be attributed in part, he said, to the maturation of infrastructure in the UAE ranging from two national airlines as well as two low-cost airlines to a wider array of tourism and transport accommodations.

“We have a larger number of hotel rooms,” he said, noting that in the early days of the event, delegates were forced to stay in hotels as far away as Ras Al Khaimah because the number of hotels in Dubai was far lower at the time.

Gitex has also grown substantially, he said, given that the information, communications and technology sectors are participating.

Repeat attendance by loyal exhibitors over the years has ensured that the largest technology fair in the Middle East and beyond continues to attract top players in the industry.

Al Merri said: “We have over 80 per cent retention rate in exhibitors.” He also noted that “Gitex Shopper is completely sold out.”

Trixee Loh, senior vice-president of exhibitions and events management at the Dubai World Trade Centre , said staff have worked hard to change the format of Gitex from its standard convention style years ago when products and services where simply displayed for delegates.

Reflecting the internet’s more conversational style on social websites between users and brand names, this year’s Gitex offers more in the exhibitor arenas thanks to the expansion of the convention centre and a mission to attract visitors and encourage them to engage in discussion.

Digital marketing

“Five years ago, it was just plain old Gitex,” Loh told Gulf News. “Back then, we had about 30,000 square metres. Now, we’re looking at 75,000 square metres and it is used in different ways.”

One example of a new take on an old theme, is the larger numbers of big-name exhibitors who are offering mini-conferences on site to stir up debate about critical trends now running through ICT sectors from cloud computing and security to digital marketing and mobile solutions.

Ahmad Nassef, vice president and managing director of Yahoo! Maktoob, said he is excited about Gitex’s addition of digital marketing to the event.

“Today there are 70 million people online [in ?Mena] and we expect 50 million to come online in the year in the Middle East and North Africa,” he said.

Despite a difficult advertising year, Nassef said online is growing by nearly 10 to 15 per cent and that online portals, software developers and others are working to boost Arabic content.

Dubai One of the new sectors expected to feature prominently at this year’s Gitex is cyber security.

The new dimension at the tech show reflects a prevalence by criminals to hack into mobile devices, sales of which are slowly outpacing desktop and laptop computers.

The adoption of new fourth-generation (4G) broadband services in the UAE means more people will be connected presenting more opportunity for criminals.

Johnny Karam, managing director for Mena at Symantec, told reporters that a recent Norton Cybercrime report suggested that internet criminals cost the planet $388 billion (Dh1.42 trillion) in 2010. Roughly 76 per cent of UAE residents were reportedly victims of data theft in the last year. Every two minutes there is some form of cyber breach within the country, he said.

Cost of breaches

Karam suggested that security breaches cost the UAE — ranked 36th globally for cyber crime — as much as $600 million last year.

“Now, mobile is becoming a major risk,” Karam said. “The risk is out there, especially with the growth of mobile penetration.”

Toralv Dirro, chief technical officer, McFee Labs, said it was good “to see security plays a major part of Gitex. More and more companies are depending on the internet to do business”. He added: “We’re also seeing a major shift worldwide from computers to mobile devices.”

Lt. Col. Faisal Al Shamar, a Ministry of Interior/Dubai Police representative, said that “safety and security is one of the main natural assets in the country” that needed to be protected although he noted the actual reporting rate of cyber cases is “very low”.

By Derek Baldwin, Senior Reporter

© Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.