Qatar Information Technology Report Q2 2011
Business Monitor International, April 2011, Pages: 56
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 it is expected to be one of the fastest-growing in the region over BMI"s five-year forecast period. 2011-2015 IT spending CAGR is forecast at 10%, with opportunities in sectors such as hydrocarbon, banking and telecoms.
The recent success of Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup will boost the ongoing development of transport infrastructure as well as the construction of stadiums and other infrastructure projects. 2011-2015 IT spending CAGR is forecast at 10%, with one potential demand driver being organisations looking for help with to utilise efficiencies from cloud computing.
BMI’s core scenario is for Qatar’s total IT market to reach US$610mn by 2015. In 2010 vendors reported a pick-up in IT services project flow, with new IT projects in banking, government, real estate and education, and from large organisations such as Qatar Steel and Qatar National Bank.
Industry Developments
ictQATAR has several priority policy areas, including telecoms liberalisation, online government, elearning, 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
The global economic downturn has arguably given additional momentum to the cloud-based model of software delivery. In February 2010, Microsoft announced that it had signed an agreement with local telecoms company Qtel to deliver cloud-based services and software applications over Qtel’s converged network. Meanwhile leading IT service provider Gulf Business Machines (GBM) announced in late 2010 that it had become a business partner of cloud computing pioneer Salesforce.com in the GCC region. Traditional telecoms services providers have themselves been moving into the IT services space, and this trend has been accelerated by the emerging popularity of cloud computing services. In August 2010, Qtel announced it was to launch a new specialist business solutions provider company offering ICT servies 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 Qatari SME sector.
Multinational software vendors continued to find opportunities in the Qatari market in 2010, amid signs that the flow of tenders had picked up. GE Intelligent Platforms was selected by Qatar Steel to provide a US$2mn production management solution. Meanwhile, banking software specialist Misys won a contract from Qatar National Bank to implement Misys’s BankFusion Equation core banking platform.
Computer Sales
The Qatari addressable computer hardware market including PCs, notebooks and accessories is forecast at around US$227mn in 2011, with double-digit economic growth, massive infrastructure projects, and demand from an expanding hydrocarbon sector among the drivers. Going forward, government projects, and particularly substantial spending on IT in education, will boost computer hardware spending.
The Qatari computer hardware market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% between 2011 and 2015. 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$80mn in 2011, up from US$71mn in 2010. 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 2011 and 2015, 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$169mn by 2015, the next period promises to see more opportunities in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, education and communications.
In 2010 new tenders were being awarded by banks, real estate organisations and educational institutions. Going forward, demand will be driven by the ambition of Qatari companies to expand regionally and internationally.
E-Readiness
Qatar’s broadband market continues to suffer from a lack of competition and the sector has been criticised for its high subscription fees. These factors could account for the relatively slow growth that has characterised the broadband market and the wider internet subscriber market. This was expected to change during 2009, however, as Vodafone Qatar geared up to launch services. Although ADSL will be the strongest driver of broadband subscription growth, we expect to see an increasing focus on wireless broadband services such as WiMAX.
Qatar was one of the regional movers in the UN’s most recent e-readiness survey. Qatar moved up four places to 32nd, due to government initiatives and expanding broadband penetration. The country performed even better in the e-government rankings, moving from 62nd to 53rd. The government launched a new e-services portal in 2008 and is rolling out new initiatives in various areas.
Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
Qatar IT Sector SWOT
Qatar Telecommunications Sector – SWOT
Qatar Political SWOT
Qatar Economic SWOT
Qatar Business Environment SWOT
IT Business Environment Ratings
Middle East & Africa
Table: Regional IT Business Environment Ratings
Middle East & Africa IT Markets Overview
Qatar Market Overview
Government Authority
Background
Hardware
Software
Services
End-User Analysis
Industry Developments
Industry Forecast Scenario
2011 Outlook
Market Drivers
Sectors
Summary
Table: Qatar’s IT Sector – Historical Data And Forecasts (US$mn Unless Otherwise Stated)
Country Context
Table: Rural/Urban Breakdown, 2005-2030
Table: Consumer Expenditure, 2000-2012 (US$)
Internet
Table: Telecoms Sector – Internet – Historical Data & Forecasts
Macroeconomic Forecast
Table: Qatar – Economic Activity, 2008-2015
Competitive Landscape
Hardware
Software
IT Services
Internet Competitive Landscape
Company Profiles
Microsoft
Oracle
IBM
HP
Country Snapshot: Qatar Demographic Data
Section 1: Population
Table: Demographic Indicators, 2005-2030
Table: Rural/Urban Breakdown, 2005-2030
Section 2: Education And Healthcare
Table: Education, 2002-2005
Table: Vital Statistics, 2005-2030
Section 3: Labour Market And Spending Power
Table: Employment Indicators, 2001-2004
Table: Consumer Expenditure, 2000-2012 (US$)
Table: Average Annual Manufacturing Wages, 2001-2005
BMI Methodology
How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts
IT Industry
IT Ratings – Methodology
Table: IT Business Environment Indicators
Weighting
Table: Weighting Of Components
Sources
- Microsoft
- Oracle
- IBM
- HP
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