Saudi Arabia’s economic revolution is built on its digital foundation

Saudi Arabia’s momentum is undeniable. The reforms of recent years have transformed the country into one of the most exciting destinations for global investment and talent. Whether it is gigaprojects such as the NEOM megacity or investments aimed at positioning the country as a worldwide leader in green hydrogen, there’s one common denominator — a solid digital foundation that paves the way for the Kingdom to build a competitive knowledge-based economy.

The information and communications technology infrastructure is essentially in place. Saudi operators were among the first in the world to deploy 5G and today, most of the country is covered by that network. In fact, the European Center for Digital Competitiveness ranked Saudi Arabia second among the G20 countries in its Digital Competitiveness Report in 2021.

Now the country must continue to build on these gains as demand for digital services accelerates in the years to come. For example, its planned megacities will be built with connectivity from the ground up. Therefore, to power the digital era set out in the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030 social and economic reforms, there is a strong need to harden and future-proof the national network to manage the expected surge in demand for digital services.

Huawei’s NetX2025 whitepaper, published in February 2021, outlines that Saudi networks need to accommodate a world where bandwidth will be measured in gigabits for both businesses and consumers. The framework argues for service providers to accommodate massive automation driven by artificial intelligence while catering to multi-cloud environments for customers. Operators should also aim to evolve the customer experience and pursue energy-efficient operating models. This will mean a shift in focus of planning from ‘traffic-centric’ to ‘service-centric’ systems.

Saudi Arabia’s success in this digital transformation lifts not just the country, but the entire region due to the size of its economy and influence across the Gulf

Eric Yang

To future-proof the county’s network also means safeguarding the data that flows through it. Although Saudi Arabia has done remarkably well to mitigate cybercrime, we must not let our guard down. The country’s growing profile puts it in the crosshairs of global cybercrime rings. Therefore, we need concerted efforts from technology firms working together with the government, service providers, and industry to bolster the Kingdom’s digital economy.

Another key priority for reinforcing Saudi’s digital transformation is nurturing its talent pool. Local universities continue to produce talented ICT professionals that support the country’s economic progress. However, the demand for ICT solutions is accelerating. We must continue investing in the development of talent to ensure that organizations have access to the qualified personnel they need to pursue their digital transformation targets.

Finally, it’s important to stress the importance of green ICT, in line with the Kingdom’s goal of hitting net zero by 2060. Leveraging digital technologies like AI, cloud, and big data can make an impact in reducing emissions across all industries in the country. ICT will help reduce industrial emissions by 12.1 billion tons globally by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.

This is ten times greater than the emissions from the ICT industry itself. Also, digital technologies can help reduce global carbon emissions by up to 15 percent — or one-third of the roughly 50 percent reduction required by 2030 under the climate change Paris Agreement in 2016.

Saudi Arabia’s success in this digital transformation lifts not just the country, but the entire region due to the size of its economy and influence across the Gulf.

 

• Eric Yang is chief executive officer of Huawei Tech Investment, Saudi Arabia