Taiwan’s Advantech expects ME business to grow 30% ahead of Expo 2020

Taiwan-based tech provider Advantech expects its intelligence service solutions business in the Middle East to surge 20 to 30 per cent due to the push towards smart cities, a senior official said.

Speaking to Gulf Business at the company headquarters in Taipei, Advantech’s manager of intelligence services group Allen Tsai said that most of the growth will be driven by the need for smart solutions ahead of Expo 2020.

“As Dubai is focusing heavily on Expo 2020 and building a smart city, the government is looking for solutions which can enable that,” he said.

“We see a big boom in healthcare, retail and hospitality sectors.”

Advantech, which specialises in providing computing solutions to various sectors such as retail, healthcare and energy, has a number of deals with major public and private sector firms in the region.

Its intelligence solutions business has deals worth $10m in the Middle East as of 2014.

The company is providing solutions to Dubai Water and Electricity Authority and the new midfield terminal project in Abu Dhabi.

Advantech’s automation business, offering solutions in energy services, infrastructure and oil and gas, has also seen a steady growth over the last two years.

“In automation, we have had deals worth $5m to $6m last year,” said Advantech’s channel sales manager for the Intercontinental region Darren Chen.

“But the growth rate in the automation business will be more significant as we have seen a 30 per cent annual growth since 2012.”

Bullish about the Middle Eastern market, Advantech is also planning to open an office in Dubai by the first quarter of 2016.

“An annual growth of 30 per cent is very meaningful for us and we see continuous opportunities for further growth in the region,” said Chen.

Regionally, Advantech’s top markets for intelligence solutions and automation are the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom’s push into smart healthcare and the UAE’s efforts to improve smart city solutions and infrastructure development will continue to fuel demand, Chen said.

“Once governments and customers begin to tap into these Internet of things solutions, our business in the region will boom,” he added.