Navigating the unified endpoint management landscape in the Middle East & Africa

Omdia view

Summary

The unified endpoint management (UEM) market in the Middle East & Africa is experiencing significant growth, with a 2022–27 CAGR of 17.9% projected for the region’s total addressable market (TAM). Qatar, in particular, is expected to see a robust expansion in UEM adoption, with an estimated CAGR of 18.8% over the same timeframe. The TAM for UEM in the Middle East & Africa region is expected to grow from $1,16,008.9m in 2022 to $2,64,236.4m in 2027. As a subset, the Middle East is forecast to increase from $68,748.7m to $1,61,500.0m in the same period. Qatar’s UEM market is also anticipated to expand—from $3,736.8m to $8,857.5m—demonstrating the significant potential in the country for UEM providers.

Table 1: Middle East & Africa UEM TAM (in $m)

Source: Omdia

Industry viewpoint and trends driving UEM growth in the Middle East & Africa

While mobility management and security are a focus for businesses across all industries, those with a large proportion of frontline workers are set to drive UEM growth in the Middle East & Africa. The primary industries driving UEM adoption in the region include the following:

• IT and telecom
• Banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI)
• Government and defense
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Automotive and transportation

Multiple vendors, including Microsoft, VMware (soon to be Omnissa), IBM, Ivanti, and BlackBerry, deliver UEM solutions to the Middle East & Africa. As with other regions, the market is competitive and mature in terms of the capabilities offered. Adoption and growth are primarily being driven by increased demand from businesses to better secure and enable mobile and hybrid work styles. Other notable growth factors for the UEM market in the Middle East & Africa include the following:

• Increased workforce mobility: As more work shifts away from traditional offices and single fixed locations, businesses are attaching increased priority to investment in mobile-centric digital infrastructures that can support and enable productive employee experiences across any location. UEM solutions are becoming a vital technology component driving digital transformation, and this is accelerating the adoption of UEM platforms.
• Robust security and business continuity: Diverse workforces that conduct work across different locations, devices, apps, and networks require robust mobile-first security solutions to ensure business continuity. UEM solutions are playing a crucial role in reducing security risks associated with modern work and enhancing broader enterprise security.
• Supporting diverse device estates: Employees are increasingly reliant on a more diverse device estate to get work done. Device proliferation means there is a growing need for tools that help businesses better manage and secure these devices and the apps used across them effectively.
• Enhancing employee experiences and productivity: In addition to security and mobility management, businesses are increasingly focused on improving employee engagement and productivity, especially in hybrid work environments. UEM solutions facilitate this by providing capabilities that enable employees to work effectively across any device, location, network, and app.

Conclusion

These trends and drivers demonstrate how the UEM market continues to evolve and become an important enterprise technology category across all regions, including the Middle East & Africa. The priority businesses attach to UEM solutions, coupled with a focus from vendors to grow adoption in the region, suggests this market will become dynamic and competitive. The UEM market in the Middle East & Africa is poised for strong growth, with countries like Qatar leading the charge. Industries such as IT and telecom, BFSI, and government and defense will be key to driving adoption.

The data here is extracted from Omdia’s newly published Hybrid Work Security and Management – 2022–27 report. Omdia’s hybrid worker security and management forecast explores the digital technology and service ecosystems that businesses increasingly rely on to secure, manage, and empower employees to work seamlessly across different devices, locations, and networks. Securing and enabling flexible work styles is supported by a suite of solutions encompassing solution categories, including mobility management, mobile security, digital experience, and employee engagement. While these solutions are often adopted in a fragmented manner, Omdia underscores the importance of a strategic approach to unify their adoption and utilization, which is pivotal in delivering optimal ROI.

Omdia’s hybrid worker security and management forecast explores the TAM and growth potential across different product categories, including mobility management (also known as UEM) and managed mobility services, employee engagement and human capital management (HCM) technologies, and mobile security solutions that are integral to enabling and supporting flexible work styles. It highlights the shift toward a more integrated and strategic approach to adopting these complementary capabilities rather than a siloed approach common in the past. The value of an integrated view and approach to adoption is that businesses can effectively support their workforce while safeguarding corporate data and assets in a distributed work environment. This strategic alignment is not just a technological shift but a business imperative that enhances employee productivity and engagement while fortifying the security posture of organizations in the face of evolving threats.

Appendix

Further reading

Hybrid Work Security and Management – 2022–27 (May 2024)

Authors

Adam Holtby, Principal Analyst, Workplace Transformation

Naga Sukumar Gattu, Analyst, Omdia

[email protected]