The Middle East region is frequently not a priority for Western companies but it is a rich region with a vast potential. Citrix Systems (news, site) certainly acknowledges this.

A New Year is a new beginning. For the new Citrix office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this is literally so. The new office opened on Jan 1st, 2011 and it is expected to play a major role in the expansion of Citrix Systems in the Middle East.

Middle Eastern Clouds

Cloud computing and virtualization--– the core competencies of Citrix Systems -- are already established technologies but their growth potential in the Middle East is also significant. As one of the three major providers of virtualization solutions, Citrix Systems has a strong presence in the States and Europe, and it is quite natural that they are looking for new geographic reasons to expand into.

The Middle East is a logical extension because it is rich and the demand for technological solutions is high. What more can a company ask for?

The Riyadh office is only the first step in the expansion. It is planned two more offices -- in Doha, Qatar, and Muscat, Oman to open later this year. The office in Dubai, UAE, will continue to function as local headquarters for Middle East and Northern Africa. If the expansion goes as planned, in next few years it is quite possible to see a broad network of Citrix offices throughout the region.

The Potential of the Middle Eastern Market

The expansion to the Middle East comes at a time when the region is already familiar with the benefits of cloud computing but is still not overcrowded with vendors and solutions. With so many oil and gas, financial services and telecom companies, not to mention the generous public sector and governmental buyers in the region, it looks like money grows on trees and you just need to pick it.

Even before the expansion, Citrix had solid presence in the region but now the three new offices, strategically positioned throughout the region, will help it serve its customers better and make cloud computing and virtualization more popular in this part of the world.

Citrix Systems isn't the only company that appreciates the potential of the Middle East. Recently SAP announced that it is doubling the resources devoted to cloud computing and mobile tech in the Middle East. This is really a region with a lot of growth potential as far as cloud computing and virtualization are concerned.