How do you assess the current state of the ICT sector in Oman?

ICT is just catching up when it comes to the world standards, but it is fast creating a robust ICT infrastructure for all the other sectors. In the manufacturing of IT Oman still doesn’t have the knowhow, but we do on the software development side, and we have a lot of initiatives from the Information Technology Authority (ITA), which has identified development as a main innovator in itself. The ICT infrastructure in Oman still has a long way to go. We have not reached that particular level, but I see a lot of perspective and opportunities for the next three to four years.

What would, in your opinion, the priorities of the government agencies related to the sector such as ITA?

Oman should start producing production-based innovators. Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) is the next tier we are talking about and this has a lot to catch up on. We need to have that kind of enabler which creates the environment for IT to drive as industry. All these things sit upon the infrastructure of any country. Then there’s skill resources. We need to fast track the skill-set and education plays an important role. There is still a lot to be done, but the good thing is that where there are gaps, there are opportunities. With international IT companies coming in, they will help Oman reach the goals set in Vision 2020.

Speaking of benchmarking, how would you compare the Omani infrastructure to those in the GCC region?

IT infrastructure per se is still being worked on, but on other levels we are way ahead. If we only speak about IT, we would like more openness in terms of letting other companies come on board. The government is now working on this to help expand the network infrastructure. Diverse information is now available online and there has been a change in culture. Oman already has some true success stories when it comes to e-governance pushing IT to be an enabler. The key goal at this point is integration. We bought together a knowledge bank and infrastructure for the government bodies, SMEs, NGOs so they can share one common database to work on. Government bodies feel the need to bring all this into one platform.

What can you tell us about the emergence and participation of the local private sector in supporting the sector?

The key thing is building the human resources which need developing. Expatriates like me come here to fill the gaps that are here and develop the skill sets. There is an open recognition. The key is the consolidation of efforts and initiatives so that we all work towards a common goal. Business Gateways International’s fundamental contribution as a private sector company has been to build a robust supply chain for the entire sector. Having that will effect cost controls, create more efficient practices, minimising risk and helping to provide transparency in the process of Omanisation.

In a few months BGI will be 7 years old. In your page you define yourself as a Global Business Stimulation Platform integrating all credible organizations and aiming to drive growth for our customers under a unique B2B initiative. How do you see the company’s evolution and what is your strategy to continue growth?

Mr. Murkoth: We entered the IT arena in 2010 and we realized that Oman had huge gaps in bringing together all suppliers within the oil and gas sector. I am a true believer of consolidation and bringing companies together to a single place, so we created an innovative platform where we bring all those companies together. We bring connectivity and drive services for them. The SMEs especially need the support for further growth and need to be seen on an international level. As a new company we are taking on a huge project and showcasing Oman on an international level. It was not easy and we would not be here without the support of the government. We have a lot more services available today and our goal is to share this success story and for others the benefit from this as well through different sectors within the economy. Eventually we want to create national supply chain system.