Lebanon IT market forecasted to grow at 7% CAGR in 2009

The information technology sector in Lebanon is forecasted to witness around 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in 2009, thereby underlining the market’s considerable growth potential after hitting an estimated US$251 million last year.

In line with its aims to capitalise on the emergent regional market, Mindware, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East, is looking to utilise its strong local partners to expand its reach and further grow its reseller network in the country.

Several factors are expected to contribute to the growth of Lebanon’s IT industry, headlined by extensive reforms being implemented across the country’s most important sectors such as telecoms, education, government, banking and media.

Furthermore, the steady increase in digital subscriber line (DSL) users is also indicative of an imminent expansion of the domestic PC market. In response to this, Mindware has reiterated its commitment to meet the growing IT requirements of the market through its pool of Lebanon-based channel partners, and portfolio of leading IT vendors such as, Borcade, Huawei-Symantec, Intel, Microsoft, Symantec, Citrix, Kingston, Business Object, McAfee, Novell, Quantum, Neverfail, Nexans, Wyse, Cheetah Networks, CA, Alcatel-Lucent and Juniper.

“An estimated 100,000 computer units have been sold in 2008, and looking at the activities within Lebanon’s IT sector, we are positive that this market has a considerable potential for growth, and therefore has a rapidly expanding need for more sophisticated hardware and applications designed for specific industries,” said Patrick Antoun, Lebanon Country Manager, Mindware.

“Our commitment to build a stronger reseller network for our Lebanon-based customers is aimed at delivering an adequate supply of high-technology IT products to support the country’s stable advancement in the information technology front.”

In addition to strong partnerships with the most prominent IT brands, Mindware also provides value-added distribution (VAD) services to its regional channel partners.

With a focus on logistics, promptness and reliability, Mindware’s expanded suite of VAD services include a whole range of networked services such as pre-sales consultancy, marketing, service implementation and after-sales support, which have facilitated market penetration and profitability for its partners and for the company.

- BI-ME