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Cisco lauds Qatar, Bahrain for ICT growth

Manama, May 21, 2014

Global IT giant Cisco has applauded Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan for their ability to use ICT to drive growth and enhance social and economic well-being.
 
The countries recently recorded strong showings in the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2014, sponsored by Cisco, which measures the capacity of 148 economies to leverage ICT for growth and country economic and social transformation. 
 
Qatar ranked 23 overall in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) being the highest in the Arab world. 
 
In the past year, the country has continued to improve and upgrade its ICT infrastructure (where it ranks 31) and uptake (18), with a decisive effort led by the government’s strong vision that has identified ICTs as one of the key industries that will diversify the local economy and boost the productivity of all sectors. 
 
Qatar was also among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of Internet users, households having access to a computer and Internet connection, which has become almost universal and has helped to achieve very high social impacts.
 
Bahrain was ranked 29, supported by affordable ICT access (ranked 25). Uptake by individuals was also one of the best in the world, with a very high number of Internet users. In addition, the number of households with a personal computer (third) was similar to that of the Nordic countries.
 
Jordan has also registered a strong performance, ranking 44 overall. Key areas of success include government ICT vision, its political and regulatory environment, and its business and innovation environment). 
 
In addition, Jordan performed well for virtual social network use, as well as Internet use for business-to-business and business-to-consumer.
 
Tarek Ghoul, general manager, Cisco – Gulf, Levant and Pakistan, said: “The GCC is showing strong ICT leadership, with Qatar in particular standing out for its drive and focus.”
 
“Data is now one of the most valuable resources in existence for both governments and businesses, and it is those that can best adapt to extract value that will thrive. Against this backdrop, Cisco is proud to ramp up its efforts across the GCC to ensure that the notion of the Internet of Everything – the increasing networked connections of people, processes, data and things - is not perceived as a challenge, but a clear opportunity to transform the quality of life, the fortunes of businesses and the innovation of government.”
 
Published under the theme ‘Rewards and Risks of Big Data,’ the GITR’s NRI is the result of a long-standing partnership between the World Economic Forum and Insead, and, since last year, with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. - TradeArabia News Service



Tags: Bahrain | Qatar | Jordan | Cisco | ICT |

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