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Hardware-centric Vendors Continue to Make Their Move Into Software
Though revenue mixes are increasingly shifting in favor of software, driven in part by acquisitions (e.g., Cisco’s purchase of Splunk), hardware continues to dominate the market, accounting for 80% of benchmarked vendor revenue in 3Q24. Industry-standard servers being sold to cloud and GPU “as a Service” providers are overwhelmingly fueling market growth, more than offsetting unfavorable cyclical demand weakness in the storage and networking markets.

PwC Middle East Experts Weigh In on Economic Trends and Transaction Activity
PwC Middle East’s webcast provides excellent monthly insights into the region’s economies, but it is not the only active Big Four firm. As TBR reported in our Fall 2024 Management Consulting Benchmark, KPMG “announced the opening of Risk Hub in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in collaboration with Microsoft and IBM, paving the way for more in-person, tech-enabled GRC [governance, risk and compliance] discussions with regional clients embarking on their digital transformation programs.” TBR also learned in February that KPMG intends to open a new Ignition Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2025, building on the firm’s global network of innovation and transformation centers.

Deployment Services in Telecom Face Post-5G Slowdown, Shifting Market Dynamics and Growth in Fiber Expansion
The deployment services market faces growing headwinds, including communication service provider (CSP) consolidation, open vRAN’s lower installation costs, and reduced demand for site location and construction (SL&C), offset somewhat by hyperscaler spend and 5G rollouts in select developing markets. Hyperscaler investments provide incremental volume to the market, and TBR notes these companies are increasing their investments in access technologies (e.g., Google Fiber).

TBR Case Study: Price Benchmarking
Explore this competitive pricing example from TBR's Tailored Services team, which helped this global Top 3 hardware OEM capitalize on their investment in pricing research.

Saudi Arabia’s Message to Global Firms: Deliver Real Value or Step Aside
Bottom line upfront: Understand that this is a Saudi story, not a PwC story, although undoubtedly it doesn’t feel that way in PwC’s corridors right now. Saudi Arabia has an opportunity to send some critical messages to players in the country, in the region and globally, and the kingdom is taking advantage.

SaaS Vendors Bet on AI Agents to Unlock New Revenue Streams
For SaaS vendors, the long-term opportunity lies in the ability to upsell GenAI solutions integrated directly into their existing workflows. While all major SaaS providers have made such solutions generally available, revenue from GenAI tools has not been enough to offset the slowing top-line growth many vendors are experiencing. Issues like cost, reliability, data governance and use-case validation remain obstacles to broader adoption, preventing the technology from becoming the growth driver vendors had hoped. Nevertheless, enterprise SaaS vendors continue to hold an optimistic long-term outlook, with many believing the technology will become a strategic necessary.

Who Is the Market Leader in IT Services?
Increased managed services activities around cost optimization and streamlined business processes and the recovering banking, financial services and insurance segment will help vendors alleviate revenue growth pressures in 2025.

The Middle East’s Economic Transformation: A Real Decoupling or Persistent Uncertainty?
The long-sought-after growth of strong non-oil economies, the eventual weaning of these pivotal Middle East countries from subservience to the price of oil is happening now and happening quickly. And should a trade war break out between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) or the U.S. and China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — and the rest of the Middle East economies — will suffer. A production surge by the world’s largest oil producer — the U.S. — would further dampen oil prices, constraining Middle East governments’ budgets. Not everything is perfect, but certainly the big picture looks promising: Non-oil economies in oil-led countries have shown persistent, seemingly lasting growth.
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AI’s Impact on IT Infrastructure in 2024: Key Predictions and Trends
/by Angela Lambert, Principal Analyst and Practice ManagerExplore TBR’s insights on how AI will impact IT infrastructure in 2024. Learn about market recovery, AI-enabled infrastructure, cost optimization, and the rise of multicloud environments.
Staying Competitive in the Fast-changing IT Services Market
/by Kelly Lesiczka, Senior AnalystDiscover how competitive intelligence for IT services impacts IT vendors, budgeting, labor costs and more.
Unlocking Competitive Insights: Beginner’s Guide
/by Allan Krans, Practice Manager and Principal AnalystDiscover the unique facets of competitive intelligence – competitors, customers, partnerships. Read this guide today to learn more!
How to Gain Cloud Market Share in 2024
/by Allan Krans, Practice Manager and Principal AnalystExplore the evolving cloud market landscape in 2024. Vendors must adopt strategic approaches to gain market share, leveraging AI-led growth, expanding addressable markets, and orchestrating multivendor partnerships. Discover TBR’s predictions for the evolving cloud market in 2024.
Open RAN Adoption in 2024
/by Chris Antlitz, Principal AnalystExplore the slow development of the open RAN market in 2024. Despite vendor marketing and CSP interest, technological complexity and cost hinder mainstream adoption. Open RAN deployments remain limited to greenfield networks, while vRAN gains traction for its agility and cost efficiencies. Download TBR’s predictions for the telecom market in 2024 for insights into industry responses to challenges.
Expectations for AI PCs in 2024
/by Ben Carbonneau, Senior Data AnalystDiscover the buzz around AI PCs reshaping the device industry. As hardware advances, software development lags, delaying potential commercial PC refreshes. Dive into predictions for 2024 with TBR Senior Analyst Ben Carbonneau.
GenAI Expectations for Enterprise Buyers in 2024
/by Bozhidar Hristov, Principal AnalystDiscover how GenAI is reshaping enterprise landscapes in 2024. With heightened expectations, vendors must showcase tangible use cases and outcomes. Explore how GenAI intersects with digital transformation predictions and the imperative for preparedness in data architecture. Unlock insights into navigating the GenAI journey for sustainable growth. Download TBR’s Top Predictions for Digital Transformation in 2024 for a comprehensive outlook.
GenAI and the Power of the Use Case
/by Patrick Heffernan, Practice Manager and Principal AnalystIn 2024, vendors adept at collaboration in the GenAI space and substantiating their promises with actual client outcomes will lead the pack. Those lacking in either area may still ride the GenAI wave, but they risk lagging behind with subpar results and waning market relevance.
Service Providers: IT Modernization Isn’t Flashy, but It Leads to Tangible Savings. Here’s How …
/by Chris Antlitz, Principal AnalystAI (especially generative AI) is of particular interest to service providers f late following technological breakthroughs from OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform, which has demonstrated that generative AI has developed to a point that it is able to bring useful outcomes to businesses and consumers alike.
Top 2023 Takeaways for the Federal IT Services Market [Infographic]
/by John Caucis, Senior AnalystThis infographic contains the three key takeaways from TBR’s latest research on the U.S. federal IT services market and what these events mean for you. Infographic includes takeaways for stakeholders, including M&A prospects, resilient spending trends, and the rise of advisory practices, amidst unprecedented growth in federal IT services.