Spending on Middle East & Africa mobility market will reach $174.6 billion in 2020, according to IDC

21 Apr 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Dubai — According to the recently issued Worldwide Semiannual Mobility Spending Guide , International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts a stable consumer and enterprise mobility market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region over the 2016-2020 period. Total MEA market revenue is expected to increase from $156.0 billion in 2016 to $174.6 billion in 2020, reflecting a 2.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Throughout the forecast period, connectivity services are expected to dominate mobility spending, achieving a CAGR of 1.9%. Nevertheless, the overall market share for connectivity spending is expected to decrease marginally to 63.7% in 2020.

Mobility services spending will dominate the market throughout the forecast period, with value increasing from $102.2 billion in 2016 to $113.6 billion in 2020. Despite this, its market share is expected to remain constant at 65.0%. Although mobility software spending will contribute less than 0.3% of the total market, it will be the fastest-growing submarket with a CAGR of approximately 12.0%. Hardware spending, which contributed 34.4% to total mobility spending in 2016, is forecast to experience steady growth and achieve a CAGR of 2.5%.

Consumers and businesses are expected to mainly purchase smartphones and notebooks over the 2016-2020 period. While consumer spending is expected to continue driving the market throughout, the retail sector will remain the largest contributor to mobility spending among the main industries. Other key spenders will be the banking, process manufacturing, and discrete manufacturing sectors. The telecommunications sector will post the highest CAGR, at 5.6%. Other fast-growing industries will include banking, insurance, utilities, and healthcare.

“The market is expected to continue evolving and becoming increasingly complex as it approaches maturity," says Derrick Chikanga, research analyst for IDC's telecommunications market. “The growing popularity of smartphones in the consumer segment will necessitate the development of new and innovative application platforms.”

From a company size perspective, small offices (1 to 9 employees) will generate 89.1% of MEA mobility revenues. That said, very large businesses (over 1,000 employees) will experience the fastest growth, achieving a CAGR of 4.8% in mobility spending. While small businesses are expected to continue spending on their hardware and services requirements, larger organizations are anticipated to invest in software.

Mobility spending across the MEA region is expected to grow faster than other regions such as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The CEE region is expected to achieve a CAGR of 1.4%, while Western Europe spending CAGR will reach only 0.5%.

IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Mobility Spending Guide is designed to address the needs of technology organizations assessing the mobile opportunity by country, industry, and company size perspective. The spending guide provides subscribers with spending data on seven technologies across 19 industries, four company size bands, and 53 countries. Unlike any other research in the industry, the comprehensive spending guide can help IT decision makers to clearly understand the industry-specific scope and direction of mobility spending today and over the next five years.