Oman Cybersecurity Market Set to Reach $214 Million by 2031 as Hadatha Drives Sovereign Capability

Oman's cybersecurity sector is on course to more than double in value by the end of the decade, with the domestic market projected to reach $214.27 million by 2031, up from $135.33 million in 2025, according to the Cybersecurity Market and Investment Report 2026, prepared under the authority of Oman's Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Oman National CERT, the Hadatha Cybersecurity Industry Programme, and Invest Oman.

The report projects the market will reach $146.12 million in 2026, before expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 7.97 per cent through 2031. That trajectory places Oman among the more ambitious GCC states in terms of formalised cybersecurity investment, alongside the broader market expansion underway across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The growth story, however, is not simply one of spending. Oman is making a deliberate structural shift: repositioning cybersecurity from a pure cost centre and compliance function into an economic activity capable of generating revenue, creating jobs, and producing exportable technology. That pivot is the central argument of the Hadatha programme, which has run since 2021 and concluded its first phase at the end of 2025.

The results of Hadatha's first phase are material. The number of local cybersecurity companies in Oman rose from 16 in 2020 to 48 by the end of the programme period, while total firms providing cybersecurity services in the Sultanate reached 56, comprising 34 local and 22 global providers. Accredited cybersecurity service providers grew from four in 2021 to 11 by end-2025. The programme also produced 17 locally developed cybersecurity products and three companies with international accreditation, signals of a sector beginning to move beyond consultancy into product development.

"Oman has pioneered the region's first national programme dedicated to cybersecurity industry development, strategically shifting the paradigm from purely defensive measures to cybersecurity as a core economic enabler," said Eng Badar al Salehi, Director-General of Oman National CERT, in the report.

Human capital sits at the centre of that ambition. Eighteen academic institutions in Oman currently offer cybersecurity majors. Approximately 445 students are enrolled in cybersecurity programmes and 1,870 job seekers are active in the field. Hadatha itself has served around 13,000 beneficiaries over five years through training, events, workshops and competitions, and the programme's output includes six new cybersecurity startups, 32 memorandums of cooperation, and three dedicated cybersecurity industry centres.

"The Sultanate of Oman is rapidly emerging as a regional leader in cybersecurity, driven by the strategic mandates of Oman Vision 2040 and the National Digital Economy Programme," said Dr Ali al Shidhani, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.

Oman has achieved a Tier 1 global ranking in cybersecurity readiness, a standard that only a small number of nations hold globally and that the report's authors cite as evidence the Sultanate's regulatory and operational frameworks are functioning at a level comparable to advanced economies.

The next Hadatha phase, running from 2026 to 2030, targets the development of 15 local cybersecurity products, the establishment of eight new local cybersecurity companies, and a 28 per cent increase in cybersecurity job and income opportunities. Eight tracks and 22 initiatives will deliver the programme, covering capability building, startup launch, product development, investment stimulation, digital trust, partnerships and performance excellence.

Enterprise demand signals within the report are also relevant for GCC security vendors and managed service providers. Demand is rising specifically for managed detection and response, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing services, with large enterprises and ICT companies identified as the primary buyers. The report encourages private sector partnerships with locally accredited cybersecurity firms, a directive that creates structured procurement opportunities for providers seeking to establish or deepen their footprint in the Omani market.

Globally, the cybersecurity market is projected to grow from $301.91 billion in 2025 to $878.48 billion by 2034. Oman's goal is not merely to track that growth as a buyer but to position its domestic industry to capture a share of regional demand as a provider. That is a different strategic orientation from most national cybersecurity programmes in the GCC and one that the broader GCC cloud and security investment wave is accelerating as sovereign digital capability becomes a policy priority across the region.

For enterprise security teams, the practical implication is a maturing local supply side. Oman-based providers are moving into product and managed services territory that was previously dominated by global vendors, and the accreditation infrastructure to evaluate and procure from them is now in place. The security platform decisions GCC enterprises are making now will increasingly involve local options at a quality level that was not available even three years ago.