How to choose an IT company in Qatar
Short answer
Choose a team that builds in Arabic and English with real right-to-left support, connects WhatsApp and the tools you already use, fixes the scope and price in writing before work starts, registers the code and accounts in your company’s name and supports the product after launch. Before you commit to the whole project, ask to see the first screen of your product.
Start with your customers, not with technology
Before you compare companies, write down where your customers come from and what they should be able to do: book, order, pay or ask a question. In Qatar many conversations start in WhatsApp and Instagram, and customers often switch between Arabic and English in the same chat.
A good IT company asks about this on the first call and suggests the simplest thing that works: often a website with booking and an assistant in WhatsApp, not a large app.
Arabic and English, done properly
A bilingual product is not a translated one. Ask to see live work in Arabic, not only screenshots.
- The whole layout flips right to left, on every screen.
- Numbers, phone numbers and dates stay readable inside Arabic text.
- Arabic texts are written by a native speaker, not by a machine.
- Search engines can find both language versions.
A fixed price in writing before work starts
Ask for a written proposal: what will be built, by when and for how much. The price should not change for the agreed scope; new requests get their own estimate before work on them starts.
Paying by milestone for work you have approved keeps the risk small for both sides.
If a company cannot give you a fixed price after the first call, ask what information it is missing.
The code, domain and accounts are yours
Everything should be registered to your company from day one. Then you can change the team at any time without starting over.
- The domain and hosting are in your company’s name.
- The Apple and Google developer accounts are yours. Apple asks companies for a D-U-N-S number, so start early.
- You have access to the source code.
- You have admin access to every service the product uses.
Customer data and AI under your control
Names, phone numbers and chats are personal data, and Qatar protects them by law (Law No. 13 of 2016 on personal data privacy protection). Ask where the data is stored and who can see it.
An AI assistant should answer only from your information: services, prices and rules. When it is not sure, it should hand the chat to your team.
Dates and support after launch
Ask for dates in the proposal, not “a few months”. With a small senior team, a website takes 1–2 weeks, an AI assistant 1–6 weeks, the first version of an app 4–6 weeks and an automation 1–2 weeks. Reviews by Apple, Google or Meta can add time that no team controls; a good team tells you about them in advance.
After launch, ask how long fixes are free, how fast the team replies and what a monthly support plan includes.
Questions to ask on the first call
- Can we see your work in Arabic and English?
- What exactly is included, and what is the fixed price?
- When will we see the first screen?
- Whose name will the code, domain and accounts be in?
- How will you connect WhatsApp and the tools we already use?
- Where will our customers’ data be stored?
- What happens after launch, and how fast do you reply?