Russia's IT market could expand 17% in 2010
MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax) - Russia information technology market could increase by 17% (dollar equivalent) this year, having contracted 30% to $12.3 billion in 2009, a survey of market analysts compiled by financial company Uralsib says.
After 2010, IT market growth should outstrip the Russian economy and its size will double by 2013, analysts predict.
IT services and software support will grow an average of 25% per year in 2010-1015, with the hardware support market expanding just 12% annually.
The hardware support market will end up having contracted 33% to $8.1 billion in 2009, the software support market 24% to $1.6 billion, and IT services 23% to $2.6 billion, the report says.
Uralsib expects that by 2015 software support will account for 21% of the IT market, services for 28%, and computer equipment for 50%.
Software support and IT services are at this point less developed than hardware support and should soon be rebounding on growing demand among Russian companies trying to make their businesses more transparent and therefore increasing their expenditures on software support. Increasingly complex business processes increase the demand for IT services, Uralsib says.
Rising demand for both software and hardware support among private individuals is another factor in IT-market growth in Russia. The number of personal computers will by 2012 have doubled from 2008, and 66 out of 100 people in the country will have PCs. The number of internet users is also likely to double to about 66/100 during this period.
This will influence the government to develop Russian IT infrastructure. Electronic access to government services (electronic voting, online taxpaying, etc.), and the creation of centralized state purchasing systems and a unified center for information resources for state structures, will stimulate demand among businesses, households, and state agencies for software and hardware support, the report says.