With the GCC’s Big Data market set to grow nearly five-fold from USD 135.7 million in 2013 to USD 635.5 million in 2020 (Source: Frost & Sullivan), this year’s Big Data Conference at GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK will enable Middle East businesses to deliver new customer and product insights, and enhance ROI avenues.
As increasing use of social media, mobile devices, analytics and research and development spur a higher volume of increasingly complex data across a multitude of regional industries, the GCC’s Big Data market is poised to make a considerable contribution to anticipated growth in the global arena – the international Big Data market is poised to jump from USD 3.2 billion in 2013 to USD 15.1 billion by 2020 (Source: Frost & Sullivan).
Thanks to Big Data analytics from basic queries and reporting, to data warehouses and data virtualisation, the Middle East is one of the fastest-growing IT markets in the world, set to reach USD 32 billion in 2014, according to IDC.
On 14 October, GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2014 – the largest information and communications technology (ICT) event in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) – will host the second annual GITEX Big Data Conference under the theme of ‘From Data to Smart Direction’. GITEX visitors also have the opportunity to attend a healthcare industry-themed briefing entitled ‘Big Data on Healthcare’ on 16 October.
“We saw strong turnout at last year’s inaugural Big Data Conference from key industry verticals such as oil and gas, hospitality, education, healthcare, telecommunications, retail, government, banking and finance. In response to attendee demands, we’re rolling-out a raft of enhanced features and content improvements this year,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organiser of GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK. “We’re employing a full suite of Big Data experts to outline new strategies designed to enhance the overall visitor experience and re-affirm GITEX Technology Week’s standing as a global hub for Big Data innovation.”
The GITEX Big Data Conference will feature key speakers such as Simon Torrance, CEO of business innovation firm STL Partners and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Big Data Programme, and Charles Augner, SVP and CIO, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Key focuses at the conference will be on empowering citizens using Big Data, driving predictive analysis for businesses, and hunting professionals with the right Big Data skills.
Huawei, a global ICT solutions provider and Diamond Sponsor of the Big Data Conference, has announced a strategic partnership memorandum with global technology provider Intel on Big Data research and technology. At the Big Data Conference, Huawei will present an engaging case study on how Big Data has increased ROI for clients.
Dong Wu, President of Huawei, Enterprise Business in the Middle East, said: “GITEX Technology Week is an important opportunity for us to highlight how businesses can gain a competitive advantage with revenue-producing, cloud-based big data solutions. Businesses that do not jump on the big data ‘bandwagon’ will be left behind by competitors who can not only store the influx of information but analyse and extract value from it.”
According to IDC’s Middle East Business Network Services Top 10 Predictions for 2014, regional organisations are deploying innovative business intelligence solutions to support core systems including machine-to-machine communications (M2M), radio frequency identification, and unified communications to optimise processes, fosteremployee collaboration, enable faster decision-making and improve operational efficiency.
Serving as the Big Data Conference’s Platinum Sponsor, global consulting company Accenture recently announced a partnership with software company Hortonworks for operational, video and sensor data analytics.
Putting the power of Big Data into practice, GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2014 will display real-time ‘Hot Trends’ on its Big Data Twitter Wall so attendees can follow which products, sectors, features and topics are trending at the show. Industry experts will field questions from attendees with insightful answers presented at the Content Hub, while attendees can also follow Big Data Tours via the GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK mobile app trail.
Running under the theme ‘Re-Imagining our Future’, GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2014 will run from 12-16 October at DWTC.
