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Dubai / Emirates Business
Microsoft’s technology ecosystem and the growing popularity of cloud services will create more than 55,000 jobs in the United Arab Emirates by the end of 2022, according to new research by the International Data Corporation (IDC). The study also covers findings from other Middle Eastern markets such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
IDC’s white paper analyses the impact of ICT, cloud services, and the Microsoft ecosystem on the UAE economy between 2017 and 2022, covering a decade of IDC regional findings. The research shows that implementation of nationwide initiatives such as UAE Vision 2021 and Smart Dubai – and other initiatives focused on tourism, healthcare, transportation and education – has led to a rise in IT spending and employment.
IDC predicts spending on public cloud services in the UAE will almost quadruple over the next five years, from AED 439 million in 2017 to AED 1.51 billion in 2022. Between the end of 2017 and the end of 2022, adoption of cloud services will create nearly 31,650 new jobs(net) and the Microsoft technology ecosystem will add 23,800 jobs (net) for a total of 55,450 in net job creation. The Microsoft ecosystem – the companies that sell, service, deploy, or otherwise work with Microsoft products – supported more than 71,250 workers in 2017. The ecosystem itself is a prolific generator of downstream revenues, accounting for AED10.16 for every AED 1 that Microsoft produces, according to IDC estimates.
The use of public cloud services, combined with investments in private and hybrid cloud solutions, will “enable organisations in UAE to innovate and achieve their [digital] transformation goals,†the White Paper posited.