newseditor Saudi Arabia Spends Billions On IT, Reaching SAR 93 Billion :
As a result of the significant progress being made in its digital transformation, Saudi Arabia is heavily capitalizing on emerging technological opportunities. The goal of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision is to make the country a center for information and communications technology (ICT) due to the country’s access to cutting-edge equipment, a robust data network, highly skilled workers, and a wide range of financial resources. Regarding the overall technical expenditure percentage, Saudi Arabia is well ahead of the pack at 21.7%.
The Saudi government will spend SR93 billion or about $27 billion on IT in 2025. According to Engineer Al-Suwaiyan, 73% of all venture capital funding will promote localization in the digitalization industry. The Saudi Arabian ICT market is the biggest in the MENA area, valued at almost $32.1 billion. Due to its proximity to the Red Sea and Gulf, ICT can serve the European, Asian, and African markets as a cloud computing and technology service provider.
How Technologically Sophisticated Is Saudi Arabia?
A widespread digital movement in Saudi Arabia is developing from the government to the private sector. Among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, Saudi Arabia has taken the lead in establishing dynamic legal regimes, fostering talent, growing innovative capacity, and expanding the domestic industry of digital products and services. 82% of large and medium-sized businesses in the KSA are predicted to implement an IoT ecosystem by the end of 2022, aiming to improve user experiences and other success metrics. In addition, SDAIA’s AI and data approach will help bring in an additional $133 billion to the region’s GDP by 2030. By 2026, roughly $1 billion will be invested in the domestic data center sector.
SADAF: A Digital Government Investment And Procurement Program
The Governor of the Digital Government Authority has introduced SADAF. The program aims to speed up digital procurement in government organizations and enhance financial management. It is the goal of SADAF, following Saudi Vision 2030, to serve as a doorway for government and non-government investment in digital technologies in an attempt to create a digital economy that can thrive into the future. The initiative boosts the participation of SMEs in digitized public procurement by 1%, and it increases the proportion of purchases made via framework agreements by 70%. Also, the initiative is the driving force behind 72% of the public-private service model’s transition from capital account outlay to operational spending.
A Digital State For An Empowered, Dynamic Society
The DGA has just released the National Digital Government Strategy, intending to create a digital government that is both innovative and effective in fostering social growth and development. By leveraging technology and emphasizing the needs of beneficiaries, the strategy aims to create a digital government structure that is interlinked and streamlined for its users. Further, the government of Saudi Arabia is actively encouraging the next generation of workers and laying the groundwork for prosperous careers in the tech sector. While the tech industry struggles to increase its female representation, the Apple Developer Academy in Saudi Arabia gives women interested in computer science a chance to pursue careers in those fields.
