IDC to Explore Saudi Arabia’s Digital Economy Future at Riyadh CIO Summit

Driven by an increasing influx of foreign direct investments and a substantial $7 trillion development scheme for the Kingdom’s ambitious giga projects, Saudi Arabia is set to witness ICT spending reaching a noteworthy $34.5 billion this year. This projection comes from the most recent analysis by the International Data Corporation (IDC), which anticipates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% for software (including cloud) spending and 8.7% for IT services spending during the 2022–2026 period.

In 2023, the public sector is anticipated to be the largest contributor to the country’s IT expenditure. The spending on AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and big data analytics is projected to surpass $574 million, as these innovative technologies become foundational for building an ‘Experience Economy’. Additionally, the finance, communications, energy and resources, and manufacturing sectors are expected to be the other major spenders in 2023. However, over the coming five years, the healthcare, finance, retail/wholesale, professional services, and education sectors are poised to exhibit the most rapid growth.

Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director for the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa, emphasizes the need for governments and businesses to adopt strategies for measuring and nurturing the potential and widespread benefits of the digital economy. This includes creating regulatory frameworks and fostering talent, crucial components for success. Lalchandani underscores the increasing role of technology in enabling, gauging, and reporting sustainability initiatives and diversity and inclusion drives, with government and business leaders prioritizing these aspects on their digital agendas.

These critical themes will take center stage at the annual IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit, scheduled for September 13-14 at the Fairmont Riyadh. Operating under the theme ‘Enabling the Digital Economy’s Leaders’, the event will bring together Saudi Arabia’s foremost IT and telecom leaders, pioneers of digital government, regulators, and thought leaders from the industry. Esteemed speakers will evaluate the current state of the digital economy, its ongoing influence on citizens, customers, employees, and operations, address key challenges, and outline proven best practices and strategies for future success.

The summit’s opening keynote, ‘Strategies for the CIO and Enterprise Innovation’, will be presented by Meredith Whalen, IDC’s Chief Research Officer. Whalen will share IDC’s latest research findings on cultivating a culture of trust, exploring the shift towards industry ecosystem innovation, and examining the ramifications of technology decentralization.

Meredith Whalen emphasizes the evolving role of CIOs as strategic partners responsible for driving enterprise-wide growth. She highlights the importance of comprehending current and future requirements to establish an environment conducive to sustainable long-term innovation. The IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit serves as an ideal platform for CIOs to learn from peers, engage with industry leaders, and gain insights necessary for thriving in the digital era.

The summit’s agenda features a series of dedicated panel sessions led by CIOs and technology-focused groups addressing various themes, including:

– Nurturing Talent and Meeting the Demand for New Skills: Optimal Team Structuring

– Strategies and Technologies for Sustainability: Implementation, Measuring Impact, Generating Business Value

– Selecting and Managing Vendors: Best Practices and Considerations

– Counteracting Today and Tomorrow’s Cyber Threats: Adaptive Security Approaches to Mitigate Risks

– Connecting the Dispersed Cloud: From Edge to Core

– Empowering the Data-Driven Enterprise- Transitioning Through AI and Analytics: Flourishing in the Intelligent Economy