Yusuf Al-Nama
CEO, Malomatia
We are conducting thorough market research to understand ICT investment opportunities in new sectors, such as oil and gas, transportation, finance, telecoms, and the media. In the future, we see Malomatia expanding its services into different sectors, and the priority is to begin in 2014, starting with the oil and gas and transportation sectors. Those sectors have been confirmed, but we may have others besides. One area where we see Malomatia growing is in the field of cyber security. We foresee huge demand in Qatar for this service, and are investing in building local cyber-security practices and capabilities. Malomatia is positioned as an IT services and consulting company; we do not sell hardware infrastructure or software, and we are not a software development company. The Qatari IT services market is currently worth an estimated $1 billion. Even capturing one percentage point of the market would be a great achievement for the company. We also envisage this market growing to $1.6 billion by 2017. Malomatia will continue to work closely with its clients to understand the priorities in order to capture the majority market share of IT services and to become the partner of choice when it comes IT integration and consulting services. One of the greatest offerings that we see being required over the next five years in Qatar is managed operations outsourcing, which will become a huge challenge across all industries; it is not sector specific.
Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari
CEO, Qatar Satellite Company (Es’hailSat)
Qatar’s vision for 2030 has four pillars. One of those is economic development and developing a knowledge-based economy. The goal is now to diversify away from the oil and gas sector to other industries. This is driven by the vision of His Highness the Emir. Today, Qatar is investing heavily to diversify its economic matrix. The ICT sector is led by ictQATAR as the regulator, and it has established different operators to enable the ICT sector and to promote its agenda, which in the end will meet the Qatar National Vision 2030. The country’s ICT sector is mainly comprised of Es’hailSat, Qatar National Broadband, as well as the telecoms operators. Five years ago, there was only one operator, but today there are several, which is a testament to Qatar’s desire to open up the market and promote economic diversification. Diversification needs to be considered seriously because oil and gas are finite raw materials, and every country needs an economic backup plan. In Qatar, we have the ICT sector and the sports sectors, which today is not only about the World Cup but also investments. We also have the tourism sector, which has projects and investment diversification opportunities.
Mohammed Ali Al Mannai
CEO, Mohammed Ali Al Mannai
Qnbn aims at having the maximum nationwide coverage to enable connectivity in the country. By doing so, service providers will be able to connect end users to the infrastructure, enabling them to communicate efficiently and effectively. Fiber optics allow the seamless transfer of data and offers both operators and enterprises the fastest possible internet access. The Qnbn network will allow communication speeds of multiple Gbps; hence, the opportunities are endless and the effect is truly transformative. New residents and businesses coming from technologically advanced countries have high expectations when it comes to high—speed broadband connections, and Qatar is ready to meet this demand, especially in light of the massive growth fuelled by construction, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, rail and infrastructure projects, e-health, e-government, and the focus on sustainable mega projects. In order to have a facilitated communications platform, Qnbn is building an advanced ICT infrastructure, while meeting the regulatory requirements of the construction, telecom, and government sectors. As per the ictQATAR report, there is an opportunity to improve and further integrate ICT skills between the workforce and the e-education system and to improve digital literacy. The fiber-optic network will be a driving force in accelerating ICT adoption in education, healthcare, and businesses, as well as in implementing programs to enhance e-skills.
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