“In the Middle East, utilities need to keep up with surging demand for electricity, gas, and water in areas of new development. In Africa, the challenge is around building out infrastructure,” Milan Kalal, IDC Energy Insights’ lead analyst for the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA) region, said in a statement.

The Middle East’s young and continuously growing population, along with a strong increase in national income, is driving rapid growth in demand for electricity across the region.

n Africa, meanwhile, investments in restructuring the power sector, building essential infrastructure, deploying renewable energy (mainly solar), and making clean water accessible to all dominate the agenda and are combining to ratchet up the demand for energy across the region.

Currently accounting for around 45 per cent of external IT spending in the utilities sector, IT services will be in particularly high demand over the coming years, with investments soaring by an annual average rate of more than 14 per cent between 2012 and 2017. The need for more efficient operational modules (e.g., enterprise asset management, billing, data analytics) and heightened security will also propel software spending, with investment in this area set to grow at an average of 9.6 per cent over the same period.

The IT spending is set to reach $1.05 billion in 2014. Combined IT spending by utility companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE will reach $500 million in 2014.

Electricity companies will account for more than half of IT spending, and will grow by around 9.5 per cent per year between 2012 and 2017. The gas and water segments account for around a quarter and a fifth of IT spending, respectively.

“Transforming economies have growing energy demands,” Kalal said. “The construction of new plants, transmission and distribution capabilities, water and sewer systems, and gas pipelines are all on the table. A lot of IT suppliers can handle the boom, but only those that can clearly define their value propositions and make it match the priorities of IT managers will get the contracts.”