Backed by a strong economy and the government’s ambitious ICT investment programme, Qatar’s IT spending will trend upwards and scale up by 15% to touch almost QR2bn this year, a new report has said.

Qatar is also seen as the fastest-growing information technology (IT) market in the Gulf region over a five-year forecast period by researcher Business Monitor International in its repolrt.

Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is expected to “fuel a new wave of investment”, while the government’s ICT-2015 strategy will also create opportunities, the report said.

According to BMI, Qatar will see higher computer software, hardware and IT service sales in 2012.

In computer hardware, the country is expected to see sales totalling QR961mn in 2012, up 10% in dollar terms compared with 2011.

The country’s computer software segment is set to record a 17% growth this year in dollar terms, accounting for almost QR380mn.

The BMI report also sees a spurt in growth in Qatar’s IT service industry with sales exceeding QR600mn in 2012.

“Government IT spending, investment, and retail sales are expected to trend upwards in 2012, as Qatar’s 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,” BMI report said.

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

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.

“Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup has strengthened its ambition to become the world’s largest sporting event host, and will boost the ongoing development of transport infrastructure as well as the construction of stadiums.

“Qatari corporations and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are looking to benefit from Qatar’s expected infrastructure development and rapid growth, and will invest in IT to boost competitiveness,” BMI observed.

In a BMI score sheet, Qatar secured 59.3 out of 100 and ranked third in the latest required rate of return (RRR) table, behind the UAE and Israel, but ahead of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The country also ranks only 8th for its IT market score of 33, but its overall rating was boosted by a high “Country Structure” score of 100.

According to IT industry watchers, Qatar’s market and users have become more sophisticated now.

As more companies learn how to leverage technological applications to streamline their operations, Qatar’s IT software market is growing faster than any other in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).