Companies from Saudi Arabia are increasingly looking at Dubai Internet City (DIC) as a strategic base to grow their business by tapping opportunities in the region and beyond.

DIC's financial incentives and simplified licensing processes combined with the connectivity that Dubai offers to the region's big markets is helping many Saudi companies scout for opportunities, establish business partnerships and distribute products.

One of them is I2, the largest distributor of wireless products and software in the region. Established by Saudi investors, I2 has more than doubled its business since setting up three years ago in Dubai Internet City .

Dubai is not our main market," says Nadim Touma, Vice President of Marketing of I2. Over 70 per cent of our market is in Saudi Arabia , Egypt , Jordan , Syria , Iran and Kuwait . However, basing ourselves in Dubai Internet City helps us distribute of our products easier," he added.

Basing ourselves in Dubai Internet City helps us to manage and foster our relationships with our partners, leading mobile brands, Nokia, LG, Daewoo, SonyEricsson, Motorola and Siemens, which is critical to the success of our business. DIC is the ideal base for us to achieve our business development objectives," says Touma.

I2 manages its regional operations by basing its core staff at its Dubai Internet City headquarters while deploying an optimal number of sales staff in the markets it targets. This operational structure works best for us. We manage 16 countries in Middle East and Africa from Dubai Internet City . Over the next year, we plan to increase this to 20 countries," says Touma.

Saudi companies have been attracted by the simplicity of the processes for setting up a business and applying for visas and permits. A dedicated Government Operations Services team in DIC provides a single point of contact for processing visas and other government paperwork.

DIC goes much further than any similar initiative in the region to support its resident companies. It provides connectivity and hi-tech infrastructure of the level leading international companies are used to. It has even implemented next-generation technologies, which are just starting to be commercially adopted even in developed countries.

Locating in Dubai Internet City means that companies can be next door to global ICT giants like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Dell, Cisco and many other dynamic and promising small and medium companies. This means that most of a company's industry partners can be reached within Dubai Internet City itself. Companies like I2 can interact with their key partners like SonyEricsson and Siemens within the zone itself.

Leveraging the advantages that DIC offers, I2 has been able to grow over 100 per cent in the last three years. The company is looking at expanding to five new countries in the Middle East and Africa region by the end of the year. I2 is also planning to double its office space to accommodate its planned staff growth.