Global ICT Companies Record Up To 50% Increase in Quality Business - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
From first time exhibitors to long-term stalwarts of the show, GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK surpassed even the highest expectations in 2011. From tangible deals conducted onsite to new partnerships and future business, exhibitor feedback has reinforced the Dubai-based event as the most influential ICT exhibition in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia and one of the top three in the world.
Many of the participants, which included the world’s most illustrious technology companies, recorded some of their best Returns on Investment (ROI) at GITEX with a substantial increase in footfall from C-level visitors and decision makers.
"The ICT industry in the Middle East is one of the fastest growing in the world and GITEX provides global exhibitors and visitors with direct access to an unrivalled number of decision makers, facilitating an exceptional volume of business as seen in 2011,” said Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO, Dubai World Trade Centre, Organiser of the event.
The event was punctuated by a raft of new launches, partnerships and deals with many companies reporting their most successful participation at GITEX yet.
Symantec chose the expo for the regional launch of its new endpoint protection 12 software for cloud security. "GITEX consistently delivers the highest standards provides us with an immense return on investment year-on-year.” said Johnny Karam, MENA Managing Director of Symantec.”
Anthony Peter, Director, Direct Communication and Customer Care Group, Panasonic Middle East said: “I would say that business conducted has been up by around 50% this year and by the end of the second day, we recorded and increase in footfall of around 130% on last year.”
For Kodak, GITEX 2011 presented the best exhibition return on investment of the year and strengthened Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading business destinations.“ In one day at GITEX, we had more traffic at the Kodak stand than in one week during CeBIT and DMS EXPO,” said Jork Beuck, IBML Manager of Product Marketing, EMEA, Kodak.
Etisalat also took full advantage of GITEX’s unique position in the region. “By the end of GITEX Technology week, Etisalat will have signed more than 15 strategic agreements with large corporations, ranging from banks to governmental institutions in both the ICT field and beyond,” said Jaber Al Janahi, Vice President – Corporate Communications.
Promate Technologies had their largest GITEX presence ever this year and during the last four days of the event took a record amount of orders from existing customers and signed contracts with new clients across the region.
"Our sales have surpassed all our expectations for Gitex 2011. We had already broken even by the end of day one, something which never occurred even in the boom times pre global recession,” said Fadi Khalil, Director of Sales, Promate Technologies Middle East. “The traffic that came to our stand consisted of key decision makers with actual spending power and the authority to commit to substantial on-the-spot orders. GITEX 2011 has been a great success and a real reminder that the region is still strong, committed and resilient.”
Featuring more than 3,500 companies from 57 countries, GITEX set the scene for product launches from many of the event’s prominent exhibitors’ including du, Dubai Police, Etisalat, Huawei, Microsoft Gulf, Ministry of Finance, Nokia, RIM (BlackBerry) and many others.
Following Sharp’s revealing of its latest regional strategy for the company’s LCD technology, the electronics giant, also the largest exhibitor at the co-located event InfoComm, announced a 50% increase in the number of business leads at GITEX compared to last year.
Many first time exhibitors to GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK have also recorded an excellent ROI and many more will benefit for the future. Citrix is one of the companies who made their debut this year. “We had huge expectations, all of which have been surpassed in terms of the quality of decision makers and the return on investment,” said Alex Filocca is Middle East Director of Marketing for Citrix. “And equally valuable is the business that comes from the clients we met by participating at GITEX."
For NEC Solutions, 2011 has also been an exceptional GITEX. Frits Neyndorf, VP NEC Middle East and Africa described the event as “excellent”. He added: This is the best show in years. We met with high quality new visitors and potential customers, leading to confirmed new orders.”
Adding to this year’s event, GITEX introduced brand new initiatives to its line-up including Cyber Security @ GITEX, Digital Marketing, Card Technology and a dedicated Telecoms Symposium, as part of a conference programme featuring world class industry leaders.
Mutlaz M Al Mutlaq, AIV Supervisor, Saudi ARAMCO, added: “Rod Beckstrom, the CEO of ICANN was exceptional. His expertise and ability to convey the information allowed me to gain a much deeper understanding of the concepts.”
GITEX returns to Dubai World Trade Centre in October 2012.
About GITEX Technology Week 2011
Redefine the Future:
GITEX Technology Week delivers the ultimate platform for the international ICT industry to meet and conduct business. The event is a definitive gateway not just to the Middle East market but to the wider region.
GITEX Technology Week hosts thousands of key suppliers and market innovators across three core disciplines:
GITEX Business Solutions: The leading international ICT trade event for enterprise solutions and SMBs for the MENASA region.
GULFCOMMS: The largest international telecommunications trade event for mobile, fixed IP and satellite.
Consumer Technology: The MENASA region's premier international trade event for consumer technology, entertainment, IT systems, components and peripherals.
New to 2011 - GITEX Card Technology:
GITEX expands its portfolio to incorporate this rapidly emerging sector as the Middle East embraces the latest trends, challenges and related products and services in this sector.
New to 2011 - GITEX Digital Media and Marketing:
GITEX Digital Media and Marketing embraces the world of the digital era by bringing together a combination of e-commerce, social marketing and e-marketing in an innovative, multi-dimensional platform, focused on bringing digital opportunities to the forefront.
New to 2011 -CyberSecurity @ GITEX
CyberSecurity @ GITEX edutainment will offer presentations on cybercrime awareness and how to avoid falling into traps including web phishing site, mobile phones credit card scanning and cloning, and identity theft among many more.
About Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC)
Website: www.dwtc.com
As the organiser of GITEX Technology Week, Dubai World Trade Centre offers more than 32 years' experience of delivering world-class events in the Middle East, providing local, regional and international exhibitors with unmatched expertise and in-depth market knowledge.
Our team organises 18 of the largest and most successful international and regional shows in Middle East, providing an ideal platform for business development in the region. Our commitment to ongoing innovation within the exhibition industry has supported the rapid growth and development of a wide range of business-to-business and business-to-consumer shows, and delivered consistent satisfaction to exhibitors and visitors.
For more information, please contact:
Wallis Marketing Consultants
Tel: +971 (0)4390 1950
Gitex@wallis-mc.com
Kurt Parry
PR Manager
Dubai World Trade Centre
Tel: (+9714) 308 6124
Kurt.parry@dwtc.com
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