Interview: Ahmed Al Alola, CEO, THIQAH, on strengthening data foundations for future-ready scaleable innovation What is shaping the transformation from e-government platforms to data-driven ecosystems? AHMED AL ALOLA: A large number of government services are now automated. The next phase is less about adding more automation and more about elevating the user experience. Citizens and businesses increasingly…
Interview: Tareq Amin, CEO, HUMAIN, on creating innovation sovereignty through architecture and intellectual property ownership What role can hyperscale data centres play in anchoring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and advancing the digital economy? TAREQ AMIN: Globally, the biggest constraint to AI infrastructure is energy – advanced models require enormous power, cooling, land and…
Interview: Ahmed Al Suwaiyan, Governor, Digital Government Authority, on strategies to boost accessibility to services and how local companies strengthen the digital ecosystem In what ways are shared government digital services contributing to interoperability and cost efficiency? AHMED AL SUWAIYAN: Shared digital services are fundamental to achieving interoperability and optimising costs. A unified…
The MENA region is undergoing a significant digital transformation, with total IT spending projected to reach $169bn by 2026. This represents an 8.9% increase over the previous year, reflecting a structural pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI) integrated infrastructure across major regional economies. A primary driver of this growth is the rapid expansion of data centre systems, which is expected…
The year 2025 was pivotal for Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to establish itself not only as a regional but as an international centre for artificial intelligence (AI) and computational power. The Kingdom plans to leverage its abundant energy resources – including oil, natural gas and expanding solar capacity – to support large-scale data centres required to power the computational demands of advanced…
Saudi Arabia’s ICT and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors have emerged as central pillars of the Kingdom’s economic transformation agenda, reflecting the growing strategic importance of digital infrastructure, advanced technologies and data-driven growth under Vision 2030. Public investment and regulatory reform as well as e-government initiatives over the last decade have laid the foundations…
The ICT and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors have emerged as central pillars of the Kingdom’s economic transformation agenda, reflecting the growing strategic importance of digital infrastructure, advanced technologies and data-driven growth under Vision 2030. Public investment and regulatory reform as well as e-government initiatives over the last decade have laid the foundations for a rapidly…
Saudi Arabia is entering a new phase of Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s long-term development roadmap, with greater emphasis on consolidating and maximising the impact of economic reforms introduced over the past decade. Since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, the Kingdom has pursued an ambitious agenda aimed at diversifying and moving away from hydrocarbons and expanding private sector activity. Sa
Interview: Ibrahim Neyaz, CEO, National Technology Development Programme How does the development of the innovation ecosystem within the ICT sector contribute to the economic transformation outlined in Vision 2030? IBRAHIM NEYAZ: The innovation ecosystem within the ICT sector is essential to achieving the goals outlined in Vision 2030. This sector is a cornerstone for the country’s economic transformation,…
