EMC plans expansion strategy

The US-based storage company EMC is planning to open seven to eight new offices in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region this year, of which two will be in the GCC.

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The US-based IT storage company EMC is planning to open seven to eight new offices in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region this year, of which two will be in the GCC.

Oman and Kuwait will each have a new office, joining Dubai and Doha as growth areas for the company.

EMC has recently been making a push in the emerging markets, where IT spending is on an upward trend compared with more mature markets, where spending has been decreasing.

"We have a team of 1,200 people across my territories, with a centre of excellence in Cairo that has more than 400 workers," said Mohammed Amin, the senior vice-president for Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East at EMC. "We are planning to invest more in technical expertise."

Total IT spending is set to reach US$192.9 billion in the Middle East this year according to the research firm Gartner, a growth of 5.5 per cent compared with 2012, higher than the global growth rate of 4.2 per cent.

"A few years ago we were behind North America and some of the western European countries in terms of technology uptake, but today this gap is really not that wide any more and in some cases, we are ahead," said Mr Amin.