The Oman IT Boom

Oman is considered a relatively small market compared to its peers Saudi Arabia and UAE. The current size of the IT industry in Oman according to BMI http://www.businessmonitor.com/it/oman.html is around $276M and is expected to grow to $416mn to 2012. The services component accounts for roughly 30%. Of this support services still account for around one-third of spending, consulting and integration the second-largest category, followed by managed services.

The IT services revenues CAGR is forecast at 9% for the period through 2012 and with the market being relatively immature there is clearly an opportunity for existing IT hardware reseller’s to create value in the IT services space.

Middle Eastern countries and Oman have always been lucrative markets for Indian expatriates and their skills. Off late Middle East has lost its sheen, thanks to a soaring rupee, the falling dollar, high inflation and a booming Indian IT sector, the Indian Techie has stayed away from the Middle East and has shown reservation in relocating to the Arab world.

Indian IT companies have already started feeling the heat from the current slow down in USA and are now looking at domestic markets for growth. As such Middle East can be a good option for Indian players. Whilst the UAE and Saudi Arabia are over crowded, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar are definitely sweet spots for the IT services industry.