(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Information Technology sector of Qatar is likely to clock a healthy growth of around 14-15 percent in the current year, mainly driven by software sales. The growth in spending was around 10-11 percent in the last couple of years.
"As per IDC (International Data Corporation), the growth in IT spending in Qatar is likely to be around 14-15 percent in 2014. This kind of growth is healthy considering the growth in previous years in IT spending was around 10-11 percent," Habib Mahakian, Regional General Manager, Gulf and Pakistan, EMC Corporation told The Peninsula on the sidelines of conference on information technology held recently in Doha. He added that software and services have contributed most to the sector's growth.
The growth in Qatar's IT market is in line with growth in the GCC countries. The IT sectors in neighbouring countries have grown in the range of 12-15 percent in the last few years. Qatar's IT market growth is driven by high private consumption and government spending.
The prospects of IT sector are bright according to industry watchers. The computer hardware sale is likely to be around QR4.34bn in 2018 showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 percent, said Business Monitor International in a report.
Despite high PC penetration, high incomes will foster multiple device ownership as tablets and other new touch form factors make up a larger share of sales.
Software Sales is likely to be QR2.16bn in 2018, showing a CAGR of 13.2 percent while IT Services sales likely to be around QR3.8bn in 2018 reflecting a CAGR of 14.4 percent. According to Business Monitor International, services are expected to perform well in the IT market in the medium term due to demand for cloud computing, smart systems and security services from the public and private sectors.
"ICT has been a major beneficiary of government policies to diversify Qatar's economy away from hydrocarbons, notably through ictQATAR's ICT-2015 strategy and the government's push to build smart cities," said Business Monitor International in its Qatar Information Technology Report. "These government initiatives have led to ambitious investments in network infrastructure which will encourage broader take-up of IT services as well as development of innovative IT systems," it said.
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