Twenty per cent of the IT services markets will move from a “hosted model” to a cloud computing model (in which IT services are provided through the internet) in the coming years, says a top Google official.
The GCC with a thriving IT market will particularly witness such changes, said Jesper Frederiksen, the Head of Enterprise for Google’s sales team in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Frederiksen said his company has already entered into contracts to provide internet-based solutions to several firms in the GCC.
Declining to name Google’s clients Frederiksen says that he sees healthy competition emerging in the region.
Google, says Frederiksen, respects the Middle Eastern markets. The company currently has offices in Dubai and Cairo. It operates through representatives in Saudi Arabia. It has ensured that all its services are available in Arabic – the lingua franca of Middle East. Frederiksen says that considering the high growth rate of internet penetration, Enterprise solutions will particularly be in demand in the region.
Though data about company’s performance in ME is not yet available, the company’s recent performance at the global level is fairly attractive. Google’s net income for the third quarter (2008) rose to $1.35 bn from $ 1.07 bn in the second quarter.
The company’s revenue rose 3 per cent in the third quarter of 2008.
Frederiksen who has worked for IT companies like Symantec and FDC joined Google when the company acquired Postini a communications security and compliance solutions company.
Zawya
