EMC® Corporation today released the findings of a survey that asked 976 IT decision makers in Saudi Arabia for their perspective on the challenges and opportunities that Big Data and IT transformation – and related skills – can present to their companies. The Saudi results will be added to the thirty-six country-level survey results being collected through EMC Forum events taking place around the world between June and December 2013. Visit EMC Forum 2013: Transforming I.T. Study for a closer look at the Saudi survey results and those of other countries as they become available. The series will conclude with an announcement of the global results in December.
Key Findings
In Saudi Arabia, Big Data is giving rise to markedly improved decision making and is already having a significant impact on companies’ competitive differentiation and ability to avert risk.
- 88% of respondents in Saudi Arabia reported that decisions in their organization could be improved with a better use of data, and 72% agree that their senior teams trust Big Data insights to make truly transformative business decisions.
- 57% have achieved a competitive advantage as a result of Big Data analytics technology and 70% believe that industries that succeed will be the same ones using such tools.
- 73% of respondents agree that Big Data technology will prove vital in identifying and protecting against cyber-attacks – which could be crucial as only 72% of respondents in Saudi Arabia are confident that they could fully recover all their data should they need to.
However, in Saudi Arabia:
- 22% of companies surveyed have no current plans for implementing Big Data technology.
- While budget (54%) was the most important factor for overall business decision making, the most common reason cited as the inhibitor to Big Data adoption was no clear business case or ROI (48%).
As companies in Saudi Arabia continue to look to IT innovation to compete locally and on the global stage:
- The business priorities driving IT transformation in Saudi Arabia are most commonly business process/operational efficiencies (46%) and developing new routes to market/selling strategies (35%)
- 86% report their business sees technology investment as a strategic way of achieving
its goals. - 81% believe it will be a challenge to have skills keep pace with IT innovation over the next three years.
- 74% of respondents in Saudi Arabia believe their organization has the right level of skills and knowledge to complete business priorities successfully.
- 81% of respondents in Saudi Arabia agree that the biggest barrier to coping with business priorities is cultural.
EMC Quote
Adrian McDonald, EMEA President, EMC Corporation
“This research shows that companies in Saudi Arabia are increasingly seeing the transformative benefits that are achievable with Big Data analytics technology. Not only are senior management executives engaging with the idea of Big Data analytics but many businesses are aware of the huge competitive advantages the technology brings as well as the security benefits. This is a core part of IT transformation, a process which Saudi businesses are well underway with. The majority of businesses in the region have already set out to virtualize and create cloud-enabled businesses and even more incredibly, some have created a fully software defined infrastructure. This approach, combined with Big Data analytics will see the agility and competitiveness of Saudi businesses increase massively.”
Customer Quote
Dr. Bandar AlSaud, Director General, National Information Center, Ministry of Interior
“The National Information Center was established more than 30 years ago to support the Ministry of Interior’s mission to provide Security and safety to the citizens, residents, visitors of Saudi Arabia. To support this mission, NIC Acts as the MOI’s service Provider and is also responsible for the exchange of information between MOI and various other Government Ministries and agencies to enhance information flow between the various ministry sectors and branches spread across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the use of the most advanced technologies available. Today, the NIC’s role as the Ministry’s IT service provider encompasses responsibilities associated with managing not just the sharing of information but also ensuring security of critical information in addition to maximizing the performance of various applications and systems. Technologies like virtualization and cloud computing are central to our ability to drive government’s vision to enable everyone to use effective government services, in a secure integrated and easy way, through multiple channels. Future technologies like Big Data are instrumental to establish intelligence driven services so as to strengthen the overall experience of the public in their interaction with government”
Analyst Quote
Samir Mardini, Head of Talent Consulting MENA, Aon Hewitt Middle East
“As businesses grow more competitive, there is an increasing demand for a variety of skills from their employees, to drive a significant competitive advantage creating new opportunities for young talent and career advancement of existing employees within the enterprise. This need for education and learning is driven even further by the rapid evolution of the technology landscape and the growing demand for intelligent solutions to enhance performance efficiencies and create new customer experiences. Set against this backdrop and to cater to the increasing demand for a qualified pool of local resources in the country, KSA continues to witness an increased focus on skills and development through strategic alliances and partnerships between industry leaders and academia, to introduce the student body to technologies like cloud computing, virtualization and big data to create a qualified workforce capable of leading the future of the country and sustaining its growth for years to come.”
Survey Methodology
EMC polled a total of 976 businesses including I.T. management and executives, technical architects, data scientists and storage/infrastructure managers from a range of businesses in Saudi Arabia who registered to attend the EMC Forum event on November 26th.