Gartner Predicts 5% Growth In MENA IT Spending By 2024 Despite Challenges

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is poised to witness a 5.2% increase in IT spending, reaching a total of $193.7 billion in 2024, as reported by Gartner, Inc. This forecast, though indicative of growth, represents a slowdown from the 6.6% expansion observed in 2023. The deceleration is attributed to a blend of economic challenges and geopolitical tensions impacting organizational spending behaviors.

Miriam Burt, Managing VP Analyst at Gartner, highlighted the cautious approach of MENA organizations towards IT investments, influenced by reduced inflation yet strained by oil production cuts, regional uncertainties, and disruptions in crucial shipping lanes. This caution reflects broader economic trends and strategic responses within the region.

Despite a general upward trend, data center systems spending in MENA is projected to slightly decline by 0.3% in 2024. The anticipated decrease primarily stems from reduced expenditure on external controller-based (ECB) storage, signaling a shift towards alternative data management solutions like software-defined storage (SDS), hyperconverged infrastructure software (HCIS), and storage as a service models.

Meanwhile, IT services in the region are expected to enjoy a robust growth of 9.6% in 2024. Organizations are increasingly channeling funds into professional and consulting services to facilitate cloud migration, artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), and Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives. Additionally, the integration of these technologies opens up new avenues for data monetization, further buoying the IT services sector alongside heightened security investments and the adoption of Anything as a Service (XaaS) models.

Varied Trends in Device Spending

On another front, spending on devices is forecasted to decrease by 4.5% in 2024. This decline is linked to fluctuating demand for new devices, such as mobile phones, across different MENA countries, reflecting diverse market dynamics and consumer preferences within the region.

GenAI's Gradual Influence on Cloud Services

Eyad Tachwali, Senior Director Advisory at Gartner, emphasized the incremental influence of AI and GenAI on cloud services spending. Despite growing interest, these technologies are not expected to significantly impact overall IT spending levels in MENA in 2024. The focus remains on cost-effective, everyday applications over transformative AI deployments.

The expansion of global hyperscalers into the MENA region, particularly through investments in green data centers and the launch of sovereign cloud services tailored to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets, underscores the evolving landscape of IT infrastructure and services.

Gartner's methodology for IT spending forecasts is grounded in a comprehensive analysis of sales data across a wide array of IT products and services, ensuring a detailed and informed outlook on future market trends.

The latest insights into IT spending trends and predictions will be further explored at the Gartner CIO & IT Executive Conference, set to take place in São Paulo and Dubai later this year. This event promises to shed light on critical strategies and innovations shaping the IT and business landscapes.

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