Milestones Include 135 New Entrants and Corporate Expansions as ICT Sector Witnesses Major Acquisitions

Dubai: 10 January 2010 – Dubai Internet City (DIC), the region’s premier ICT cluster and a member of TECOM Investments, today announced 2009 proved to be a successful year with the addition of 135 new companies, expansion of business partners within the cluster and a flurry of industry-related milestones including mergers and acquisitions.

Despite global economic challenges, DIC remained resilient with many of their business partners expanding their presence at the cluster while the industry witnessed major acquisitions among the business partners and by overseas companies that affirmed the region’s strong fundamentals.

Communications leader Nokia Siemens Networks also expanded on its existing facilities at the cluster, as did Qualcomm, McAfee and Research in Motion, the maker of Blackberry.

Malek Al Malek, Executive Director, Dubai Internet City, said: “The trying times during the year following the onslaught of the global economic crisis brought unpredictable consequences to companies globally and regionally. Yet the region’s ICT industry weathered the storm as regional government spending on IT infrastructure continued while the entrepreneurial spirit of the region played a crucial role in pulling the industry through the crisis, giving the much-needed impetus to continue with our decade-old growth.

“DIC has once again sustained its annual growth with the addition of over 100 new business partners and we are delighted with our continued success as a major destination that attracts large corporations, SMEs and technology start-ups. But the tenacious success of our business partners amidst challenges further strengthens our confidence and we believe they are delighted to be part of a cluster that remains the key engine for growth in the region’s ICT sector.”

This year, Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions, established its regional headquarters in DIC, aiming to use the base to cater to the region’s IT industry. AT&T, the global telecommunications major, opened its new office at the cluster, underscoring its commitment to the Middle East and Africa region

Other ICT players that have joined DIC during 2009 include leading companies such as India-based Tata Communications, Norway headquartered Telenor Global Services, KDDI Singapore and Sophos Middle East.

Cementing its position as a driver of the regions ICT industry and as a destination that aids companies to grow and develop, DIC also witnessed key acquisitions within the industry during the year.  In one of the biggest deals of its kind, Yahoo! acquired DIC-based Maktoob, providing further incentive to IT startups in the region.

Another business partner Tandberg, one of the largest makers of video conferencing systems, was acquired by CISCO recently. In addition to acquiring Tandberg, CISCO also expanded its already significant presence at DIC to accommodate its regional growth.

In addition to major corporations, DIC has also been successful in attracting SMEs through its FirstSteps@DIC Business Center, a unique facility that allows new companies to test the region’s business environment with minimal upfront investment. This segment witnessed an increase of nearly 30 per cent with 36 new companies becoming part of the one-of-a-kind programme. Some of the most prominent companies to enroll in the FirstSteps@DIC Business Center include Wexer, ReverNet  and Netcetera.

Al Malek added: “DIC has a reputation for being the regional home to some of the world’s biggest corporations including many of the Fortune 500 companies, and we are proud to be the location of choice for these brands. However, we are also extremely proud of our capability to cater to SMEs of all sizes and operations, and the success of the FirstSteps@DIC programme, as well as its year on year growth bear a profound testimony to our status as a valuable business partner. We will continue to focus on this segment and offer our unique value-added service to spur their growth in the region.”

Since its inception in 2000, Dubai Internet City (DIC) has been able to attract over 1,200 companies to its cluster.