Qatar Information Technology report published by Business Monitor International says that Qatar’s total IT market is expected to reach US$420mn in 2009 and US$644mn by 2013. Qatar ICT authority, ictQatar, which was founded in 2005, highlighted number of priority policy areas, including telecoms liberalization, online government, e-learning, e-health, and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The government priority is to increase utilization of ICT by SMEs.
The IT services market is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the Qatari IT market between 2008 and 2013, outperforming the hardware and software sectors With spending on IT services estimated to grow to US$109mn in 2009, the next period promises to see even more opportunities, particularly in key sectors such as financial services and communications. CAGR for the 2008-2013 period is put at 13%. Telecoms, banking and retail sectors are all providing strong demand. Vendors are reporting an evolution in demand for services, with a shift away from the dominance of product implementation and installation to greater interest in managed services, value-added services, facilities management, hosting and disaster recovery.
Qatar internet penetration reached nearly 50% in 2008 and broadband penetration is around 10.5%. Broadband penetration is expected to triple to 31.2% by 2013. New fixed and mobile licenses are among the drivers. 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. In 2008 the government has launched a new e-services portal and is rolling out new initiatives in various areas.
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