French telecommunications operator Orange has announced it has agreed to partner with US technology colossus Google, in an effort to explore opportunities to fund and potentially acquire start-ups in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Almost half of technology leaders, both globally and in the UAE, expect budgets for IT/technology to increase, driven by a surge in spending on operational efficiencies, customer engagement and data-driven insights. This is among the key findings of The Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey 2020, one of the largest IT leadership surveys in the world, with over 4,200 responses from CIOs and technology executives across 83 countries.