Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation is accelerating, says survey

According to a new YouGov survey launched by global technology company SAP in the run-up to LEAP, the platform attracting leaders from around the world on February 1-3, 2022, nearly all (92%) of Saudi Arabia’s government IT decision-makers agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated their digital transformation over the past year.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in a large-scale phase of digital transformation, especially in the public sector, and we are proud to partner with some of the most strategic projects leading with our innovative business software solutions”, said Ahmed Al-Faifi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Middle East North, SAP “Thanks to initiatives such as Saudi Vision 2030, Smart Cities and among others NEOM and The Red Sea Project, the Kingdom is on the path to becoming a technology hub leading with innovations in the Cloud.”

In terms of the top three priority areas for Saudi government organizations’ digital investment in 2022 and beyond, 67% said human capital management, 61% said enterprise resource planning, 56% said core solutions, 41% said customer experience, 41% said predictive analytics, and 34% said procurement.

Many of the Kingdom’s government and public sector organisations are at the forefront of implementing new solutions as emerging technologies continue to grow and mature.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning (77%), the Internet of Things (65%), cloud (51%), predictive analytics (38%), robotic process automation (36%), and blockchain (35%) are among the top three emerging technologies that respondents said their organisations will prioritise in 2022 and beyond.

“The Kingdom’s National Strategy for Data and AI is already seeing a ripple effect, with 77 percent of government IT decision-makers prioritizing artificial intelligence and machine learning for the next year to optimize operations, talent development, and citizen experiences,” added Al-Faifi. “As Saudi Arabia begins to emerge from the pandemic, the Kingdom is playing an important role in creating a platform for diversified entrepreneurship in emerging sectors. With SAP’s knowledge exchange programs, the youth skills and talent are constantly developing, creating a new generation of leaders.”