Spending on consultancy in the Gulf has slumped because of Covid-19, but heightened demand for advanced technology consultancy services prompted by the pandemic is expected partly to offset the downturn.
Revenue for all types of consultancy in the Gulf is forecast to fall 22 per cent this year to $2.6bn, according to Source Global Research, a UK-based adviser to professional services firms.
In the past few months, however, authorities in the United Arab Emirates have used technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), big data and internet-connected devices in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
The technologies, for example, are being used in testing for Covid-19, in tracking people infected with the virus and checking that residents are obeying lockdown rules.
The UAE government confirmed this month that cases of Covid-19 in the Emirates had increased to 13,599 and resulted in 119 deaths.
Tech is among the fastest growing consultancy markets in the Gulf, says Fiona Czerniawska, co-founder of Source Global Research. Tech consultancy revenues rose 11 per cent last year to $1.2bn, she adds.
In March, a laboratory testing facility for Covid-19 was built in two weeks in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainable city and business centre. The facility is among the largest of its kind in operation outside China, according to Group 42, a local software company supplying the lab’s technology.
The market for technology consultancy in the Gulf has been strong for much of the past decade, buoyed by government spending on online public services and “smart city” technologies. Masdar City is a notabl ..
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