Technology & IT | Sunday 8 March, 2015 4:11 pm |

Organizations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are early adopters of the technology innovations, as the wider region will post the world’s second-fastest IT growth in 2015, announced SAP MENA’s new Head of Customer Office.

The Middle East and Africa’s ICT spending is set to pass USD 270 billion in 2015, with the region’s IT market growing nine percent, the second-fastest of any global region, according to research firm IDC. In particular, IDC predicts strong growth in Smart Cities, telecommunication and digital services, and security investments.

With global ICT growth on the rise, SAP predicts there will be 75 billion connected devices and 2.5 billion connections by 2020, unlocking an opportunity of USD 65 trillion in what SAP calls the “Networked Economy”.

“Organizations in the MENA region are deploying the latest technology not simply because it exists, but rather to innovate new business models, radically simplify business processes, and deliver superlative experience to tech-savvy customers,” said Sam Alkharrat, President, SAP MENA. “Technology is becoming increasing vital as the region hosts mega-projects and mega-events like World Expo 2020 and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, with ICT helping organizations to gain a competitive advantage and to drive the region’s economy.”

In anticipation of the increasing importance of customer innovation in the Networked Economy, SAP MENA has become the first in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) to open a dedicated Customer Office.

“By opening SAP’s first regional customer office, we’re demonstrating our support for the Middle East’s sustainable economic growth. We’re helping our customers to accelerate innovation adoption and value realization, as well as to leverage best practices from around the world, while enhancing project delivery coordination and communication to senior leaders,” said Frank Forndron, the newly-appointed Head of Customer Office, SAP MENA.

In his new role, Frank Forndron will report to Sam Alkharrat, President, SAP MENA, and Pedro van der Werf, Head of Customer Office, SAP EMEA, while maintaining his responsibility as Head of Quality Management for SAP MENA and EMEA Emerging Markets.

Since 2007, MENA has been one of SAP’s fastest-growing markets globally. SAP MENA counts more than 1,350 customers, and has more than 1,688 qualified SAP consultants and 120 business partners across 12 offices and 16 countries. As part of its commitment to youth, SAP MENA has 92 university alliance partners, who have trained more than 570 instructors and exposed more than 51,000 students to SAP innovations.