IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa is set to hit $1.7 billion next year, despite a slight slowdown in expenditure, according to tech research and consulting company Gartner. The Connecticut-based firm forecast that spending in the sector would rise by 2.6 percent in 2022, compared to a growth rate of 2.7 percent this year. Gartner said this rise in expenditure is mainly attributed to Gulf Cooperation Council countries’ “rapid shift” from oil-exporting economic models to knowledge-based economies. Renewable energy’s more prominent status and falls in oil prices during the pandemic accelerated this shift, as traditional exports started to take a back seat, the report claims. It also said that workers becoming rapidly digitally literate, the digitalization of sectors such as retail and banking, and the emergence of 5G technology all present opportunities for the IT sector to further grow in 2022. The communications services segment will account for the largest percentage of IT expenditure in 2022, making up 66 percent according to the forecasts. The NYSE-listed company added that the IT services sub-sector is projected to grow by the highest rate next year compared to others, going up by 8.6 percent. Meanwhile, spending in the devices segment was the only one expected to decline, decreasing by 0.2 percent.