Qatar Information Technology Report Q3 2012

Qatari IT spending is expected to reach US$511mn in 2012 with BMI downwardly revising its forecast due to macroeconomic factors. However, PC sales are expected to remain strong after the PC market reported strong growth in 2011. The decision to award Qatar the 2022 FIFA World Cup is expected to fuel a new wave of investment, while the governments ICT-2015 strategy will also create opportunities. With its booming economy and ambitious ICT investment programme, Qatar is expected to be the fastest-growing IT market in the Gulf region over BMIs five-year forecast period.

Headline Expenditure Projections

Computer Hardware Sales: US$232mn in 2011 to US$253mn in 2012, +9% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised due to stronger-than-expected sales growth in 2011.

Software Sales: US$86mn in 2011 to US$100mn in 2012, +16% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised due to analyst modifications with a stronger strategic focus on software spending.

IT Services Sales: US$130mn in 2011 to US$158mn in 2012, +22% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised due to analyst modification with services outperforming the hardware and software segments.

Risk/Reward Ratings

Qatars score was 59.3 out of 100.0. Qatar ranks third in our latest RRR table, behind the UAE and Israel but ahead of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The country also ranks only eighth for its IT market score of 33, but its overall rating was boosted by a high country structure score of 100.

Key Trends And Developments

- Qatars successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup has strengthened its ambition to become the worlds largest sporting event host and will boost the ongoing development of transport infrastructure as well as the construction of stadiums. Qatari corporations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are looking to benefit from Qatars expected infrastructure development and rapid growth and will invest in IT to boost competitiveness.

- Government IT spending, investment and retail sales are expected to trend upwards in 2012 as Qatars booming economy, driven by elevated energy prices and heavy government expenditure, fuels IT growth. In 2011, there were new IT tenders in areas such as e-government and healthcare.

- In its attempts to diversify the economy, the Qatari government is undertaking massive infrastructure projects, boosting fields such as construction, transport, and increasingly, tourism.

By 2011, growth in the non-hydrocarbons sector was gathering pace, and all these sectors are likely therefore to offer promise to vendors of IT hardware, software and services.


The price of this market report covers 4 quarterly reports on this sector. This quarterly report will be downloadable instantly as a PDF document, with the 3 remaining reports delivered at regular intervals throughout the year.