NEWS | Wednesday, 01 August 2007

Dubai outsource zone eyes multiple growth potential

GCC IT spend set to grow by 15% in 2007

Dubai Outsource Zone (DOZ), a member of TECOM Investments and the first and only dedicated free zone for the outsourcing industry in the world, is looking forward to multiple growth potentials as spending on information technology, which expanded by over 19 per cent to top US$6.8 billion in 2006 in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alone, is set to grow by an additional 15 per cent this year.
The economies of the six GCC countries are on an accelerated growth path due to sustained high oil prices, which have also encouraged governments to launch massive diversification efforts. As a critical industry vertical, information technology and communication are the focus areas for these countries. Dubai Outsource Zone stands to gain from this scenario.
The Director of Sales for Dubai Outsourcing Zone, Hesham Amiri, said: “Global and regional trends point towards encouraging growth prospects. Leading research indicators affirm the region’s IT spending has seen manifold increase. International market research firm IDC’s 15 per cent growth forecast for this year on top of a remarkable 19 per cent expansion, offers us great potential.”
DOZ has already increased its master plan to 11 times its original size due to heavy demand from local and international outsourcing companies. The zone has seen its total area increase from three million sq ft to 33 million sq ft.
Among the new entrants to the zone are integrated IT focused international business engineering outsourcing service provider Futech and Emirates airline. The Dubai-based carrier has announced plans to invest up to US$54.5 million to set up a call centre at DOZ with 500 employees. The 100,000 sq ft facility is due to be ready in 2008.
Already a leading outsourcing destination in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, DOZ aims to become one of the global top 10 in the near future. According to a report from global growth consulting company Frost and Sullivan, revenue from Offshore Shared Service Operations (SSO) is expected to touch US$85.1 billion this year compared to US$58.2 billion in 2006. SSO is a mode of outsourcing, which offers a range of tailored benefits for customers.
DOZ also serves as a centre for disaster recovery facilities for call centres located offshore elsewhere in the world. It caters to offshoring requirements from Europe, the US, Middle East, Asia and Africa, making it a vital link in the world of outsourcing.
Offshoring from Dubai has also proved to be beneficial to outsourcing companies based out of India, which makes up approximately 80% of the world’s offshoring industry.
DOZ has so far registered about 72 companies and expects up to 400 firms to commence operations at the zone within the next few years.