The landscape for digital technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is evolving fast.
The Saudi Government has long recognised the need to pivot from an oil-based economy to a diversified economy. It sees advanced digital technologies as a critical transition tool for a successful and stable post-oil future.
Today, the Government believes that rapid technology adoption is essential to achieving national goals – as set out in the Vision 2030 plan. Recent developments show the scale of ambition:
- A new digital economy policy that creates a roadmap for investments
- A cloud-first policy for Government IT spending
- The announcement of new city called 'The Line', which will be cashless, 100% 5G, and will pioneer AI-driven environments
- Large-scale investments by tech giants including Alibaba and Google.
- Labour reforms designed to attract and retain skilled expatriate workers so they can switch jobs without an employer's permission.
This pivot towards technology has created significant new opportunities for Australian tech companies. These include: artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and cloud computing solutions for education, government, healthcare, energy, and transport.
