The Global Business Library

Start Searching
All White Papers Video Case Studies

Go
Join

White Papers Full Library

Case Studies About us

Video Blog

Home > Blog Ab stract

Connect with us:

Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- Qatar ICT Opportunities: A Recipe For Success
Posted b y Company IDG Connect

Search blog

Editorial Calendar
August 2012
Mon Tue Wed 1 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 8 15 22 29 Thu 2 9 16 23 30 Fri 3 10 17 24 31 Sat 4 11 18 25 Sun 5 12 19 26

Tw eet

Share

StumbleUpon

Like

Send

What you're Saying Roel Castelein (Global) - Big Data: The Third Wave
The next wave could b e creating wisdom thru collab oration of data (unstructured transactional facts), information (processed data) and knowledge... Amitava 08-17-2012

Following our look at opportunities for SMBs in the Middle East, we turn our focus to Qatar and its thriving IT market. While BYOD and the cloud may b e the b ig b uzzwords b eing thrown around, there are many other positives and opportunities when looking at Qatar. Last year alone the ICT market posted a growth of 21%. Its mature market is looking ahead to the cloud, fib eroptics and replacing their old smartphones. The 2012 Glob al Information Technology Report saw Qatar overtake the UAE as the second most IT-savvy country in the Gulf, one place b ehind Bahrain. The report explains how the country "Has managed to create one of the b est environments for entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide." The report wasn't all complimentary however. "On a less positive note, the low levels of competition existing in the ICT and telecommunications sectors are affecting the overall affordab ility of accessing ICT, especially in terms of b roadb and, hindering a wider diffusion and usage of ICT across the different agents in the country, such as b roadb and Internet sub scriptions." In order to remedy these prob lems, Qatar's state-b acked Qatar National Broadb and Network Company (Q.NBN) has announced its plans to invest around half a b illion dollars upgrading its b roadb and network, introducing fib eroptics and b oosting capacity for new telecom operators. CEO Mohamed Ali Al-Mannai said, "We see there is the potential opportunity for more competitors to come into the market, b ut in which form this is not clear yet, whether it would b e a full telco operator or a small service provider." With an eye on the 2022 World Cup, the company aims to up high speed fib er optic penetration to 95% from the current 5%, reaching 30,000 homes b y the end of 2012 and 300,000 b y 2015. BMI's expectations of the country are also rosy. "With its b ooming economy and amb itious ICT investment program, Qatar is expected to b e the fastest-growing IT market in the Gulf region over BMI's five year forecast period." IT spending is expected to reach $533mn this year, up 15%, and they expect the World Cup "to fuel a new wave of investment, while the government's ICT-2015 strategy will also create opportunities." One of the b iggest earners from all this has b een Samsung; the electronics giant b agged $17.5m worth in sales last year, and has b een averaging growth of around 40% for the last few years. One of the most popular products Qataris are b uying is smartphones. Penetration has reached 75%, with the 1534 year olds b uying the majority of the devices. A report b y Nielsen shows apps are largely ab sent, with around 65% of all smartphone users having no apps on their phones at all. The report also noted that of the 25% that didn't own a smartphone, almost half cited price as the b iggest b arrier. Clearly cheaper devices and a way to draw owners into using apps are high on the list of requirements. In this year's Glob al Innovation Index Qatar is the highest rated in the MENA region, coming 33rd worldwide. The index ranks 141 countries/economies b ased on their innovation capab ilities and results, and includes some 15 economies from the Middle East and Northern Africa. Though Qatar's nearest rival is UAE in 37th, the country has fallen seven spots on last year. It seems job s in the country are on the increase too. According to the Monster Employment Index Middle East, online job opportunities in Qatar were up 34% year-on-year, with tech job s among

Roel Castelein (Global) - Big Data: The Third Wave

Thanks for a nice & simple article. Kindly help b y providing technical details for handling b ig data.

Sunita Marwah

08-17-2012

View all comments

IDG Connect Soundbite

Asia: Fastest data cab le connects #Japan, #Malaysia, #Singapore and #Philippines http://t.co/DqMOBJJT Glob al: How to encourage positive #socialmedia feedb ack http://t.co/Ep5jo4xS US: Why #privatization is the path to the States for contractors http://t.co/oFFe03pC Glob al: Music #streaming revenues up 40% in 2012, digital music sales to top $8.6 b illion http://t.co/RSupJFM5 Follow idgconnect on Twitter

www.idgconnect.com/preview_document_new

1/2

the most popular listings. As with any country, there are prob lems. The government acknowledges there are connectivity issues, skills shortages and certain b usiness environment challenges, b ut these are fairly small/ trivial compared to other, less developed MENA countries. But overall, whether telecoms, software, electronics or innovation- Qatar is on the up. Growth across the industry is sky high and with the World Cup coming investment will keep flooding in to the country. Couple this with the government's dedication to ICT and their 2015 plan and you've got a recipe for success. By Dan Swinhoe, Editorial Assistant, IDG Connect

Partners
Seoul Space IDG Connect Marketers ILX Group Gerdau SA Afrinnovator South African Local Government Association idgconnectlaw Popular Tags idgconnect IT Infrastructure Cloud Computing

Contributors
(ISC)2 Monster Reksoft CSC Netmagic Solutions Smart Sky Electronics We45 Solutions Business Daily Web sense Afrinnovator Business TechNode Security

Categories

Mob ility Management Cib ecs ility Mob Regional Content Mob ile Phones IT skills Technology Data Management Data Security Venafi Computing Cloud ILX Group Data CAMM IT Skills ISACA Internet Brocade Trends Epicor Software Social Media

White Papers Copyright 2012, IDG Connect, All rights reserved. Designated trademark s and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the IDG Connect Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
CIO Computerworld CSO GamePro Games.net World Expo Infoworld PC World

Social Media

Case Studies

Gerdau SA Other

CIO East Africa

Video

Full Library Connect with us:

ITworld JavaWorld

AbouteDevelopment us Blog
Resource Centre

Linuxworld

MacUser

Macworld

Network World

www.idgconnect.com/preview_document_new

2/2