KPMG, a prominent provider of audit, tax, and advisory services in Saudi Arabia, has released the “Tech Survey Saudi Arabia 2022,” which reveals the technological strategies being employed by businesses to gain a competitive edge in these rapidly changing times.
The report highlighted that both public and private sector organisations in Saudi Arabia are making substantial investments in digital transformation, driven by the country’s Vision 2030 and the government’s digital transformation initiatives.
Saudi companies are quickly adopting artificial intelligence, data transformation, and cutting-edge technologies to leverage technology and surpass their international counterparts, it said.
Approximately 66 percent of the respondents from Saudi Arabia believe that their organisations are highly successful in utilising technology to further their business objectives. This marks the highest confidence level recorded in this study, backed by a substantial return on investment, which suggests that effective digital transformation is becoming less of a unique factor than in past years.
Of the respondents, 18 percent reported extremely effective transformation programs that have resulted in a minimum 11 percent improvement in profit or company performance. 80 percent of organisations in the Kingdom are in the advanced stages of their digital transformation plans, with the necessary leadership support and funding to drive their efforts forward. Although 41 percent acknowledge that progress is slower than anticipated, digital transformation programs have generally placed Saudi organisations in a favorable position to adopt new technologies.
Additionally, the majority of Saudi organisations (70 percent) have made progress in their adoption of data and analytics systems and expect to invest in quantum computing within the next two years. 53 percent of executives in Saudi Arabia cited security and compliance requirements as the top challenge their organisation faces in their cloud journey, and 63 percent plan to increase investment in application security, which is 20 percent higher than the global average.
“Our latest global tech report finds a resilient, forward-looking attitude among technology professionals in the Kingdom and their peers globally. Moreover, Saudi organizations also demonstrate that they are not risk adverse in adopting tech at the cutting edge, in some cases moving farther and faster than their peers,” said Robert Ptaszynski, Head of Digital & Innovation at KPMG in Saudi Arabia.
Cybersecurity teams are under pressure
KPMG found that cybersecurity teams continue to face challenges with evolving threats along with cultural obstacles and limited funding getting in the way of security efforts. However, most Saudi organisations remain confident of their ability to prevent or mitigate security risks.
The digitalisation of customer touchpoints and the implementation of hybrid work models are the two most significant cybersecurity challenges faced by organisations in Saudi Arabia. Approximately 47 percent of the respondents identified the need to enhance customer experience as the primary driver for their cybersecurity spending.
Despite the challenges, Saudi IT and business leaders are confident in their cyber capabilities. With more than 50 percent are either very or extremely confident in combatting various cyber threats, including from organised crime groups, insiders and compromised supply chains. In several threat categories, this confidence level increased to over 60 percent.
