Saudi Arabia’s Digital Experience Maturity Index Improves by 80.6%

Najez Center of the Saudi Ministry of Justice (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Najez Center of the Saudi Ministry of Justice (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia’s Digital Experience Maturity Index Improves by 80.6%

Najez Center of the Saudi Ministry of Justice (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Najez Center of the Saudi Ministry of Justice (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The general Digital Experience Maturity Index has achieved a rate of 80.68%, compared to 77.26% in the previous cycle.

This increase is the result of the development of government platforms and their role in improving the quality of life, facilitating business, and enhancing competitiveness.

The digital government platforms in the Kingdom are witnessing a rapid growth, with the aim to enhance competitiveness and facilitate the entry of companies and institutions into the local market, in line with Saudi Arabia’s goals to encourage investment through smooth and high-quality services.

On Wednesday, the Digital Government Authority (DGA) announced the results of the Digital Experience Maturity Index for the year 2023, with the participation of more than 134,000 beneficiaries, which focused on measuring the maturity of 24 platforms on four main perspectives: beneficiary satisfaction, user experience, complaints handling, and technologies and tools.

The Ehsan platform topped the list of the digital platforms with a rate of 89.4 percent, followed by Absher (89.2 percent).

The Governor of the Digital Government Authority, Eng. Ahmed Alsuwaiyan, shed light on the importance of the indicator in raising the satisfaction of beneficiaries, enhancing their digital experience, and improving interaction, in accordance with the strategic directions and goals of Vision 2030.

He emphasized the development of digital government platforms in the Kingdom and their role in improving the quality of life, facilitating business, enhancing competitiveness, and achieving efficient government work, which contributed to the country’s progress in international indicators.

In March, the Digital Government Authority announced the start of the second index cycle, which included an evaluation of 24 digital platforms, compared to 12 platforms in the previous cycle in 2022.

The authority issues this indicator annually to open channels of communication with beneficiaries of digital government services, thus contributing to raising the level of maturity of the platforms, improving the quality of services provided, and achieving the strategic objectives of the digital government.

Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Center for Economic Business in 2019 with the aim of facilitating procedures for starting, conducting and terminating business and providing all related services in accordance with international best practices.

The center was able to provide more than 1.2 million services to the business sector through branches spread throughout the Kingdom, in addition to the electronic “business” platform, with the number of beneficiaries exceeding one million.



S&P Downgrades Israel’s Long-Term Ratings to 'A' amid Hezbollah Conflict

People take cover by the side of a road as a siren sound, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People take cover by the side of a road as a siren sound, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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S&P Downgrades Israel’s Long-Term Ratings to 'A' amid Hezbollah Conflict

People take cover by the side of a road as a siren sound, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People take cover by the side of a road as a siren sound, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)

S&P Global downgraded Israel's long-term ratings to "A" from "A+" on Tuesday, citing risks to the country's economy and public finances from the escalating conflict with Iran-backed armed movement Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The rating agency highlighted concerns over potential security threats, including retaliatory rocket attacks against Israel, which could worsen the economic impact.

Peer Moody's cut the country's credit rating two notches to "Baa1" last week and warned of a drop to "junk" if the current heightened tensions with Hezbollah turned into a full-scale conflict.

"We now consider that military activity in Gaza and an upsurge in fighting across Israel's northern border - including a ground incursion into Lebanon - could persist into 2025, with risks of retaliation against Israel," S&P said.

S&P maintained Israel's outlook at "negative".