Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 03 | Page 63

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology At a glance… Mobile sales share across Middle East surpass world average Criteo, the performance marketing technology company, has found that the mobile share of all digital sales in the Middle East is 38.8%, which is higher than the world-wide average of 35%, according to Criteo’s Q3 State of Mobile Commerce Report. The study, which analysed industry wide trends, provides marketers with fundamental mobile commerce intelligence for engaging consumers and increasing sales. to deliver the speed, security and reliability they need. And, as the focus of network design changes from providing comprehensive coverage to meeting higher capacity and device density demands, more schools will evaluate the capabilities delivered by the new 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless networking standard. Getting ready for rich learning with multi-gigabit Ethernet: As more universities leverage online learning and testing and utilize rich media to drive up learning outcomes, they will look to the new access layer switching products that support multi-gigabit Ethernet connectivity to power these demands. In these times of contracting IT budgets, it will be critical to look for products that are able to leverage the existing twisted-pair copper cabling and are able to auto-negotiate to obtain the highest transfer rate (1, 2.5, 5, or even 10 Gbps) for connecting both today’s and future wireless access points. (For the full article, please visit www.intelligentcio.com/me) www.intelligentcio.com Criteo’s research highlights that the share of smartphones of mobile sales in KSA and the UAE is at a substantial 79%, outshining their tablet counterparts, which hold a current share of 21 per cent. This trend has been observed globally, but is significantly higher in the Middle East. Additionally, Criteo found that mobile order values compared to those of desktop are at a ratio of 82 to 100. “Mobile must be given increasing importance by ad strategies in order to effectively engage with tech savvy consumers in this day and age, and marketers must closely monitor the consumer’s purchase journey if they want to entice buyers and capitalise on sales,” said Dirk Henke, Managing Director Emerging Markets, Criteo. Criteo’s findings are in line with the region’s current ecommerce and technology trends, especially with operators in the UAE implementing high-speed mobile internet upgrades to cater to growing consumer demand. According to Ericsson’s mobility report for the MENA region, mobile data traffic is expected to grow 16 times greater than the current 2015 rate, validating the potential mobile has in terms of purchasing power. 2015 has already witnessed a growth of 80% in mobile traffic from the previous year, with the share of mobile digital sales in KSA and UAE markets rising up to 38.8%. INTELLIGENTCIO 63