"Riding the wave of change, Myanmar's ICT industry is clearly in the forefront of discussions as the country needs to embrace technology in order to integrate with the global economy and overcome inadequate infrastructure," said Lam Nguyen, research director for Indochina.
"Myanmar is unquestionably a green field market for ICT investments and first-mover competitive advantage awaits foreign ICT players that are nimble enough to position themselves early in the market," the analyst added.
For IT spending, IDC is expecting 15 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in 2012, and the market is expected to reach US$268.45 million by 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 percent over the forecast period between 2011 and 2016.
IDC believes that the nascent ICT market in Myanmar is poised to enjoy growth in two key areas in the next five years: telecommunication infrastructure development and business investments in IT.
For the telecommunications market to grow, the introduction of new laws will be necessary to open up the market to foreign investments. In addition, progress in political reforms and ease of media censorship will also encourage businesses to improve processes and provide reliable connectivity, and for consumers to adopt technology.
Due to its population density, IDC foresees that Yangon and Mandalay will be the two leading IT hubs for foreign market-entry and IT consumption in the next few years. As for industries, the leading major verticals will likely be the government, utility and energy, financial services, hospitality, and media sectors. The ICT talent pool is also expected to grow with government initiatives, as the leaders in Myanmar prepare the nation to compete with other neighbouring countries.