eGovernment initiatives to drive IT services spend in Gulf countries: Study

The combined IT services market of Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 per cent over the coming years to a total of USD 1.82 billion by 2018, according to a forecast released by a global advisory services firm.

The International Data Corporation (IDC) expects this growth to be driven by government-led infrastructure projects, eGovernment initiatives, transformations in the transportation, banking and financial services sectors as governments in the region pursue diversification strategies into non-oil sectors.

“The willingness of CIOs to procure outsourcing services is increasing across the OGCC (Other Gulf Cooperation Council) countries,” Eric Samuel, a senior analyst for IT services at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, said yesterday.

“Some organisations are already reaping the benefits associated with ICT technologies, such as improved operational efficiency, reduced capital expenditure, and enhanced ICT management. And as the outsourcing services offered by ICT services providers mature over the coming years, we expect the adoption of such services to increase notably,” he said.

IDC’s latest data shows that the OGCC IT services market reached a total value of USD 1.13 billion in 2014, up 11.7 per cent on 2013.

Qatar presented the strongest growth in the region, with IT services spending fuelled by large-scale, infrastructure-driven, and government-led projects in the transportation, healthcare, and education sectors.

Qatar will continue to have the fastest growing IT services market of all the OGCC countries and IT services spending in the country will surpass Kuwait’s total by the end of this year.

Qatar is also expected to lead IT services spending in the region through 2018, the date forecasts.