|
|
 |
|
Viewing report
|
|
|
|
Qatar Information Technology Report Q4 2010
Business Monitor International, Oct 2010, Pages: 54
The Qatar Information Technology Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, information technology associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Qatar's information technology industry.
Market Overview
Qatar may not have the largest IT market in the Gulf, but in early 2010 it appeared well positioned to benefit from economic recovery. IT spending compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is forecast at 10%, with opportunities in sectors such as hydrocarbon, banking and telecoms. An expected revival in the manufacturing and construction activity in 2010 should provide a stimulus to IT spending in those sectors.
BMI's core scenario is for Qatar's total IT market to reach US$550mn by 2014. In H110 there were new IT projects in banking, government, real estate and education. There were signs of a pick-up in IT services project flow, with new IT projects from large organisations such as Qatar Steel and Qatar National Bank. Government spending, investment and private consumption growth are all expected to trend upwards in 2010, as Qatari real GDP growth reaches a projected 15.2% in US dollar terms. The Qatari IT market has a number of positive factors that should help it. The government remains keen to promote economic diversification and, aside from oil and gas, banking is likely to be one of the more important sectors in terms of IT investments. Large planned government investment in education should also help to boost the PC segment.
Industry Developments:
Qatar's IT sector should benefit after incumbent telecoms company Qatar Telecom (Qtel) announced in 2009 that broadband internet speeds had been doubled to 1Mbps from 512Kbps. Research released by Qatar's Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology in Qatar (ictQATAR) showed mobile penetration exceeding 120%.
Qatari information and communication technology (ICT) authority ictQATAR has a number of priority policy areas, including telecoms liberalisation, online government, e-learning, e-health and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A government target is to increase utilisation of ICT by SMEs. The government is also implementing a major IT initiative in the healthcare area, namely the development of an integrated national health information platform.
Competitive Landscape:
Multinational software vendors continued to find opportunities in the Qatari market in H110, amid signs that the flow of tenders had picked up. In February, GE Intelligent Platforms announced that it had been selected by Qatar Steel to provide a US$2mn production management solution. Meanwhile, in March, banking software specialist Misys won a contract from Qatar National Bank to implement Misys's BankFusion Equation core banking platform.
Microsoft Middle East reported in January 2010 that its regional sales had fallen 50% since 2009 as the recession hit demand for computers and software. In 2010, the company hopes that migrations to its Windows 7 operating system, launched in October 2009, will boost its sales in the Qatar market. In April 2010, Microsoft revealed that it had signed an agreement with Dubai-based ITE, a leading regional IT company, to distribute its software products in Qatar.
One trend in the global IT services market has been the move of traditional telecoms services providers into the IT services space, accelerated by the emerging popularity of cloud computing services. In August 2010, leading Qatari telco Qtel announced that it was to launch a new specialist business solutions provider company to offer ICT services to companies across Qatar. Qtel will partner in the venture with EMEA, which provides managed services, with the main target segment being the 42,000 strong Qatar SME sector.
Computer Sales:
The Qatari addressable computer hardware market including PCs, notebooks and accessories is forecast at around US$205mn in 2010, with demand from an expanding hydrocarbon sector among the positive drivers. BMI forecasts higher single-digit growth in 2010 compared with 2009, when there was a deceleration due largely to the impact of exogenous factors such as falling oil prices and credit tightening. The Qatari computer hardware market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9% between 2010 and 2014. An evolving retail landscape will help to stimulate sales, with the traditional domination of smaller stores having been diluted by the appearance of multi-brand electronics sections in hypermarkets and monobrand stores in malls. A growing population has also helped expand the consumer segment and attract new retailers into the market.
Software:
BMI forecasts a software market value of US$71mn in 2010, up from US$64mn in 2009. With the evolution of the IT market, a stronger strategic focus on software spending is being seen, with procurement decisions often taken at a higher executive level. Software spending is expected to grow to at a CAGR of 10% during BMI's five-year forecast period.
Growth areas include business intelligence and other information management applications, as Qatari companies seek more efficiency in both internal collaboration and relationships with international customers and partners. There remains demand for basic enterprise resource planning (ERP), however, even among larger manufacturing and service sector companies. A Qatari government report found that software piracy had declined by almost 10% within the last five years.
IT Services:
The IT services market is forecast to be the fastest-growing segment of the Qatari IT market between 2010 and 2014, outperforming the hardware and software sectors. Indeed, it has steadily increased for the last 10 years. With IT services spending estimated to grow to US$151mn by 2014, the next period promises to see more opportunities in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, education and communications.
In 2010 new tenders were being awarded by banks, real estate organisations and educational institutions. Going forward, demand will be driven by the ambition of Qatari companies to expand regionally and internationally.
E-Readiness:
Qatar's broadband market continues to suffer from a lack of competition and the sector has been criticised for its high subscription fees. These factors could account for the relatively slow growth that has characterised the broadband market and the wider internet subscriber market. This was expected to change during 2009, however, as Vodafone Qatar geared up to launch services. Although ADSL will be the strongest driver of broadband subscription growth, we expect to see an increasing focus on wireless broadband services such as WiMAX.
Qatar was one of the regional movers in the UN's most recent e-readiness survey. Qatar moved up four places to 32nd, due to government initiatives and expanding broadband penetration. The country performed even better in the e-government rankings, moving from 62nd to 53rd. The government launched a new e-services portal in 2008 and is rolling out new initiatives in various areas.
Product samples
A sample for this product is available. Please Login/Register to download this sample.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Qatar Information Technology Report Q1 2012
Qatar Information Technology Report Q2 2011
Qatar Information Technology Report Q1 2011
Qatar Information Technology Report Q2 2010
Qatar Information Technology Report Q1 2010
Thailand Information Technology Report Q2 2011
Brazil Information Technology Report Q1 2011
Chile Information Technology Report Q1 2011
Colombia Information Technology Report Q1 2011
Romania Information Technology Report Q4 2011
|
|
|
|
