Working Together • Chapter summary

When considering the pace of digital change in the Kingdom for this publication, we worked to identify the key actors and interviewed the people leading change. This chapter is focused on the organizations that have orchestrated digitalization across the economy.

Private sector actors who perform IT integrations at a variety of organizations have long been key the use of new technology. Many of the top firms that work in this area are represented here. Likewise, in Saudi Arabia’s public sector-led economy, government authorities are never far from the action. That is also the case within the area of digitalization. Several key government bodies and state-owned companies did much of the heavy lifting in Saudi Arabia’s COVID-19 response. For example, the state-owned IT companies Thiqah and Tamkeen have long provided the digital backbone of individual ministry’s efforts to digitalize. Likewise, Tabadul, a state-owned IT firm, has created the digital system for the Kingdom’s customs and ports authorities.

While these government firms have done significant work on the Vision 2030 program, the private sector is served largely by pioneering IT firms who have grown through aggressive innovation and by introducing new technology to the Saudi market. Jawraa, MIS, Detased, Beyond Technology, and many others have long played a leading role in bringing the Saudi economy up to speed with respect to technology, but the pandemic placed a new urgency on technological adoption at private companies.

This drove a surge in requests for cloud solutions, data management, integrations, and digitalized processes. The result was that these firms suddenly became some of the bright spots during a very difficult time. They also became central to the continued functioning of the economy by enabling remote work and remote and secure access to key systems.

Some government bodies not covered in this chapter, but interviewed elsewhere in the publication also played interesting and essential roles in the implementation of technology. Monshaat (the SME Authority) is a particularly relevant example. Their response to the pandemic was multi-pronged. First, the authority worked in coordination with larger policy initiatives to defer existing loans and guarantee new loans for SMEs. It also created a virtual classroom solution that sought to improve the skills of SMEs through online classes that focused on digitalization and new routes to market. The classes were well-received, and, along with other policies, pushed small business owners towards digitalization.

The pandemic has taught us that technology is nothing without implementation. These companies and authorities have made an enormous difference throughout a trying year.