Software development industry – Ahead of GITEX

For techies, the GITEX, the annual information technology exhibition in Dubai, is one of the top three exhibitions in the world. It has steadily grown from 939 companies being represented in 2004 to 1,353 in 2006, with 133,139 visitors from 119 countries. The growth of GITEX reflects that of the MENA region overall as the third fastest growing IT market in the world after India and China. This year has already been sold out and will be the biggest exhibition ever in its history. At least 25 Lebanese firms have signed up along with a new conglomerate of companies known as Lebanon SoftShore. GITEX is the place where developers unveil their latest designs such as Software Design Consulting Group’s (SDCG) Visual Dolphin Retail, that will allow retailers to manage their total business from the register, tax collection, inventory status and customer/supplier data. According to Raymonde El-Hayek Warde, general manager of