Abstract
The UAE is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the Gulf region and the Middle East. IDC expects total IT spending in the UAE to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 6.0% over the five-year forecast period, reaching $8.06 billion in 2017. According to the latest survey by the World Economic Forum: The Global Information Technology Report 2014, the UAE now ranks 24th in the world in terms of IT spending. In this research paper, we look closely at Open Source Software usage in the UAE. A survey study was conducted in four categories-governments and ministries, IT companies, universities and IT enthusiasts to explore the opportunities and challenges faced by this segment of the software industry. The study is also compared with two Arabic countries: KSA and Tunisia. This is the first study of its kind in this part of the world and is expected to contribute significantly to the global direction for Open Source Software.
Highlights
A 2009 survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) found that the Open Source Software (OSS) market has experienced a strong boost from the prevailing economic downturn, with worldwide revenues expected to grow at a 22.4% compound annual growth rate, reaching $8.1 billion by 2013 (Jaspersoft, 2010)
We focused on identifying OSS awareness in the UAE, assessing the OSS users’ insights in the UAE, exploring OSS opportunities, challenges and recommendations in four categories in the UAE: Governments and ministries (49 participants), IT companies (117 participants), universities (47 participants) and IT enthusiasts (53 participants)
In the UAE, ranks 24th in the world in terms of IT spending (UAEITR, 2013; WEFGITR, 2015), Open Source Software can play a vital role in avoiding total dependence on a single vendor and attendant licensing problems
Summary
A 2009 survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) found that the Open Source Software (OSS) market has experienced a strong boost from the prevailing economic downturn, with worldwide revenues expected to grow at a 22.4% compound annual growth rate, reaching $8.1 billion by 2013 (Jaspersoft, 2010). This expected growth is attributed to the increased quality, reliability and support services supplied by OSS providers. According to WEBOPEDIA (2015), “Open source developed in the technological community as a response to proprietary software owned by corporations.”. According to WEBOPEDIA (2015), “Open source developed in the technological community as a response to proprietary software owned by corporations.” Our literature survey shows that there is no real OSS development or deployment strategy in place in developing countries similar to those found in developed countries
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