The Sri Lanka Information Technology Report Q4 2014 from Business Monitor International (BMI) forecasts a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.5% for IT market spending during the period from 2014-2018.

The IT market is expected to increase to a value of Rs. 163.8 billion in 2018.

Strong income growth and low penetration of PCs, enterprise software and services will combine to boost IT spending growth in Sri Lanka over the medium term, it says.

"We expect it to embark on a period of catch-up growth 2014-2018, closing the gap to comparable markets in terms of the penetration of IT products and solutions after a long period of conflict," the authors say releasing the report.

According to the report, the local IT industry is also developing, with a vibrant local software and BPO industry and the development of local facilities for PC manufacture and assembly to service the local market and wider region.

The BMI believes the outsourcing industry in Sri Lanka, which has developed rapidly in recent years, is on a strong footing to continue for the medium term as the country has emerged as a leading destination for software product engineering.

The BMI report on the Sri Lanka Information Technology offers market assessment and independent forecasts covering personal computers and software; semi-conductors, memory chips, integrated circuits and general components; the internet and IT solutions.

BMI's Sri Lanka Information Technology Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, IT associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the IT industry in Sri Lanka. (KH/priu)