Firms yet to benefit from ICT due to lack of training

Lack of training in deploying new technologies has been viewed as the main reason information, communications and technology (ICT) has not had a larger benefit for firms based in the UAE, according to a survey.

According to the Dell/Economist Intelligence Unit survey, at least 32 per cent of UAE-based respondents are worried about lack of training, while the rest of the countries focus on lack of technology skills among employees.

In general, the responses of UAE-based executives mirror those from the global sample on the impact of ICT on their countries' firms, and the key drivers and inhibitors of ICT use in future.

Almost 81 per cent of UAE respondents agree, for example, that the ICT impact on their firms has been positive over the past five years, with 38 per cent believing the effect has been extremely positive. There are a few noteworthy differences, however, as a larger share of UAE respondents than in the global sample (60 per ent vs 47 per cent) disagree that firms in the country are well-placed to adopt and utilise certain types of ICT faster than firms in developed countries.

The main reason ICT has not had a larger benefit for UAE firms is viewed as a lack of training in how to deploy new technologies.

In contrast to the global sample, the main external factor cited by UAE executives that hinders the better use of ICT is the lack of local firms providing ICT advisory and support services.

The global sample cited the poor state of local telecoms and IT infrastructure as the main inhibitor. The largest divide in the survey between UAE respondents and those from the rest of the world concerns the local availability of employees with adequate technology skills: similar numbers (68 per ent from the UAE vs 65 per cent global) say they are confident of recruiting these individuals, but a far higher percentage of UAE respondents – 68 per cent vs 39 per cent in the global sample – say they will have to look abroad to find them.

Culture has also been one of the factors impacting ICT in the region. In the middle east 63.5 per cent of respondents in Bahrain and Qatar believe local customs to be a key influence in levels of technology acceptance compared to an average of 39 per cent across the rest of the region.

Conducted in late 2008, the 537 senior-level executives and managers were polled in Brazil, Russia, India, China, the UAE and five other Gulf nations along with Mexico, South Africa and Vietnam. Respondents were asked to rate how strongly they agree with the statement: "Cultural values in parts of our society often discourage the wider use of ICT by employees".