April 29, 2009 (WAM) - Malek Al Malek, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City, has urged the Middle East's telecom companies to monitor and support start up technology companies which could be a vital source of innovative products and services. Al Malek made his comment during a key note speech titled: 'An outlook of the Telecom industry in the Middle East', delivered on the first day of the third annual TelecomFinance Middle East and Africa 2009 Conference held yesterday at the Park Hyatt Hotel, Dubai.

The leader of one of the world's largest managed ICT clusters, Al Malek said: "Start-up companies can greatly reduce time to market and the cost to develop new technologies for telecom companies. While some telecom operators around the world have already started dedicating resources to monitor the market for innovative technology companies, the Middle Eastern telecom industry would also benefit from a similar business model." In his address, Al Malek looked at the sweeping changes that the Middle East has been experiencing in the past decade that has created a trend where telecom companies have had to remain competitive by constantly offering new innovative products and services to support the infrastructure of telecom service providers.

"The new generation has become more educated and savvy, and they are demanding more choice. This is why the telecom infrastructure has had to ensure it delivers superior and differentiated services and telecom networks that are also able to facilitate the availability of converged services - something that consumers have come to expect from their telecom service providers today," he told delegates. Al Malek went on to demonstrate the potential for growth in the region's telecom industry by making reference to a number of key sources including the Global Information Technology, report recently released by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD business school. The report shows that the Middle East has been the biggest beneficiary from ICT advances in the past eight years, with countries in the GCC key players in promoting and developing the structural transformation of the region's physical infrastructure.

Al Malek emphasized the market opportunities available in the region as the amount spent on IT services, in the telecommunications sector for the UAE, is estimated to top US$97 million by 2009 and US$133 by 2011, according to the recently published IT White Paper: 'A Middle East Perspective'.

Following his key note address, Al Malek took part in a lively panel discussion chaired by Santino Saguto, Managing Director, Value Partners Dubai and senior industry speakers including Ihab Ghattas, Assistant President, Hua Wei Telecom Middle East and du's Raghu Venkataraman, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy '&' Strategic Marketing. The discussion looked at the business model trends likely to evolve in the region, some of which include the rise in local content for social networks and the convergence between other sectors and changing social trends.

Dubai Internet City currently hosts many of the world's leading ICT companies. Today, 100 of 1400 business partners at DIC serve some of the world's largest telecom operators who are also based at the award-winning ICT free zone. They include: AT'&'T, China Telecom, British Telecom and Verizon.