The Middle East ICT

Like other sectors of the economy, development of Saudi Arabia’s ICT industry is being deeply influenced by the government’s Vision 2030 strategy that emphasises the need for diversification and modernisation. However, in the context of this roadmap, ICT is not being addressed as a standalone sector, but rather as a fillip to help all other...

The advent of 5G mobile service in Saudi Arabia offers a major leap forward in communications quality, which is critically important to the Kingdom’s plans to modernise and develop a diversified, globally competitive economy. A 5G network will be faster, able to handle more data and can do so with lower latency – the delay in processing large...

As more commercial transactions move online and the digital economy continues to expand into every facet of the traditional analogue economy, businesses are gaining access to new channels to reach existing clients and expand their market share with competitive digital offerings. For consumers, the digital growth promises easier access to and...

While encouraging greater use of ICT to make the economy more competitive, the Saudi authorities are also eager to see jobs created in the sector. There is, however, some uncertainty regarding how the impact of new technologies on employment will play out. Broadly speaking, there are at least three key points that should be considered. The...

Blockchain – the distributed-ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin – appears set to transform a wide variety of industries and perhaps fundamentally change the way business is conducted across the global economy.

More and more commercial transactions are moving online and the so-called digital economy continues to expand its reach into every facet of the traditional analogue economy. For businesses, this means they have access to new channels to reach existing clients as well as new opportunities to expand market share with a competitive digital...