Digital transformation investments in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) are set to double across the 2020-25 period, according to the latest forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC).

The global technology research, consulting, and events firm says that digital transformation spending in the region will accelerate at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.6% over the five-year period, topping US$58-billion in 2025 and accounting for 40% of all ICT investments made that year.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us into a digital-first world, where new digital habits are reshaping consumer behaviour," says Crawford Del Prete, global president at IDC. "At the same time, end-user organisations are taking a digital-first approach to products, services, customer and employee experiences, and operations. For these organisations, accelerating the journey to becoming a digital enterprise is essential not only for navigating the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic but also for thriving in the future."

With end users across the META region increasingly embracing this new approach to business - leveraging advanced technologies to drive innovation, transform their products, and facilitate critical business outcomes - IDC believes that technology providers need to ramp up their capabilities to address their evolving needs.

"Building a portfolio that has a significant share of advanced technologies such as cloud, IOT, AI, and edge computing, developing business-outcome-focused conversations with customer executives, strengthening skills in advanced technologies, deepening industry knowhow, and fostering an innovation mindset will all be essential competencies that tech providers need to develop if they are to sustain and increase customer wallet share in the digital-first world," continues Del Prete.

The IDC adds that these insights will top its agenda at the IDC Directions 2022 META scheduled for 31 January 2022 in Dubai.

Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC's group vice president and managing director for the META region, says, "As different parts of the region take varied paths of recovery from the pandemic - some more uneven than others - organisations in all industries will strive to develop resiliency by aggressively leveraging technologies such as cloud, AI, digital infrastructure, IOT, and security, among others. As digital innovation scales up and industry ecosystems converge during the post-COVID recovery, technology providers need to position themselves to tap into significant new growth opportunities and unearth ways to create new customer value."

Lalchandani will expand on this as he hosts an exclusive session titled 'Unlocking Opportunities in the Digital-First World', during which he will present IDC's outlook for the ICT markets of the META region.