- IT spending is projected to total $230.7b in 2025, an increase of 7.4% from 2024.
- Governments and private sector enterprises in MENA are investing heavily to position the region as a world-leading AI innovation hub.
- CIOs will take a more focused approach toward GenAI projects next year, leveraging the experience gained from their pilots.
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are expected to increase their investment in data centre technologies in 2025, reflecting a significant shift towards modern technological infrastructure.
According to Gartner analysts, the strategic direction aligns with the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services, as well as a burgeoning demand for data storage and processing capabilities.
Mim Burt, Managing Vice President Analyst at Gartner, said that both governmental bodies and private enterprises are heavily investing in the region to position MENA as a preeminent hub for AI innovation.
The data centre segment is poised for considerable growth, with a projected annual increase of 14.9 per cent in 2025.
The remarkable growth could be attributed to local organisations escalating their research and development expenditures, aimed at fostering new business models and enhancing customer experiences.
GenAI investments on the rise
“Such initiatives not only enhance the competitiveness of these organisations on a global scale but also serve to bolster overall IT spending across the region. Prominently, major hyper-scalers are also committing resources to data centre systems, enhancing the sustainability and scalability of AI-embedded cloud infrastructures,” Burt said.
In parallel, software spending in MENA is expected to rise by 13.7 per cent in 2025, driven largely by heightened CIO investments in generative AI (GenAI) applications.
Burt noted that MENA CIOs are increasingly allocating their budgets towards GenAI, cloud services, and cybersecurity software. This investment aims to enhance digital workplaces and customer experiences, ultimately leading to improved product quality and service delivery.
Moreover, as CIOs embark on more focused approaches to their GenAI projects starting 2025, they will rely on the insights gained from initial pilot programs.
Eyad Tachwali, Sr. Director Advisory at Gartner, said that while the initial hype surrounding GenAI has diminished, a more nuanced understanding of its complexities is developing.
“CIOs are now recognising the need to align their use cases with business priorities and invest in both AI literacy and practical application to derive tangible value from their GenAI initiatives.”