Microsoft seeks to enter the Saudi market with new investments, in order to achieve an increase in the company’s growth on the global level, via several giant projects in the kingdom that depends on artificial intelligence and nationalizing techniques.
Saudi Arabia’s IT spend in 2018 will reach the value of $40 billion and the country foresees cloud computing to grow around 25 per cent by 2022, as the government drive forward digitization, said president of Microsoft Middle East & Africa Samer Abu-Ltaif to Asharq Al-Awsat. He added that Microsoft will participate in any Saudi approach to support foreign investments, and that results of these discussions would appear within the coming weeks.
During the second edition of Microsoft Transform 2018, an event organized by Microsoft Saudi Arabia, dedicated to encouraging conversation on digitization and fostering the latest digital trends, Abu-Ltaif affirmed that this phase is highly important for Saudi Arabia, which is seeking to accomplish Saudi Vision 2030, amid forecasts that the digital economy will be worth over $100 trillion globally by 2025.
Regarding the Saudi cyber-security, he mentioned the MoU signed with Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming (SFCSP), which includes several approaches in training and development.
According to Abu-Ltaif, “Microsoft Transform 2018 is a strong platform for us to create conversation on digitization in Saudi Arabia, and highlight technologies and innovations with our partners in the government, banking, retail, manufacturing and oil & gas sectors. A key priority for Microsoft is creating opportunities to support youth enablement, education and to build the skills of the future in the Kingdom.”
Microsoft has led several initiatives in support of digital transformation in the Kingdom over the years including a program aimed at building the necessary skills among Saudi youth.
