Middle East Banks Leverage IT to Become Smartest in the World

Finance Sector’s IT Expenditure in Four Largest Markets in Middle East and Africa to Reach USD 5.7 Billion in 2018: IDC

Omnix Sponsors 4th Annual Middle East Banking Innovation Summit to Drive Innovation

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Middle East banks will leverage the latest IT solutions to become the smartest in the world, industry experts announced at the 4th Annual Middle East Banking Innovation Summit.

Driven by investment in technologies such as Big Data analytics, cloud and mobility, total IT expenditure by financial institutions in the four biggest markets in the Middle East and Africa - the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey - is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.0 percent to reach USD 5.8 billion in 2018, according to IDC.

“Middle East banks face challenges from in legacy IT systems to support the next wave of mobile banking, while meeting strict government data security policies,” said Nader Paslar,

Telecommunication & Banking Manager, ESS Division, Omnix International.

Omnix International, which was a key sponsor for the 4th Annual Middle East Banking Innovation Summit. “By leveraging the latest IT solutions, Middle East banks will support innovation to drive competition and become the smartest in the world.”

With the Middle East’s banking sector set for double-digit revenue growth this year,  according to Boston Consulting Group, banks are looking for ways of standing out from the competition.

Mobile banking is a key area for growth, with the UAE ranking top three worldwide in mobile banking adoption, according to a recent SAP study. The UAE also hosts one of the world’s highest smartphone penetration rates of 74 percent, according to Google’s “Our Mobile Planet” report.

Omnix International offers a range of solutions to help the region’s banking customers across risk management, business analytics, data security, and mobility.

“With the need to analyze organizational data, banks can now utilize business intelligence solutions to improve and streamline their operational efficiencies to not only bolster marketing strategies and better develop customer service programs, but also mitigate risk, by developing more appropriate risk management processes,” said Kerry Koutsikos, Regional Director for Qlik Middle East Africa & Turkey.

“Qlik sees the self-service Business Intelligence and Visualization market expanding in the region, and through its relationship with Omnix, it will be able to deliver enterprise value solutions leveraging Qlik’s data discovery solution for banking, with the aim to rapidly respond to changing market conditions in the banking sector,” added Kerry Koutsikos.