TRENDING
Dr Moataz Bin Ali, Vice President and
Managing Director, Trend Micro, Middle East
and Africa
Moataz Bin Ali, himself a Saudi citizen,
explains the importance of Vision 2030, for
its citizens.
“Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is not just
technology. It is a life for the entire
country. It sets the pace of how this
country should grow, and how it should
expand in the future,” he said. “With the
development of the Saudi Vision 2030
and the announcement of that, Saudi has
become more of a pillar in the region than
anything else.”
The Saudi government has recognised
the need to transform itself along with
its supporting institutions. This includes
the creation of free zones, availability
of work visas and progressive lifestyles.
This progressive transformation is giving
businesses the confidence to set up their
central offices inside Saudi Arabia. And
the pace of transformation will bring the
opportunity of setting up regional business
hubs inside the country at par with the rest
of the countries of the GCC. “All of these
elements are fully recognised by the Saudi
government,” said Dr Ali.
Among the technology companies that have
decided to move their regional operational
hubs to Saudi Arabia is security vendor,
Trend Micro. With Saudi Arabia embarking
on its journey of transformation, Dr Ali
believes this is the right time to be investing
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YOU DO NOT WANT TO
GO THROUGH A DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION AND FORGET
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART,
WHICH IS SECURING THAT DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION.
in the country. “Now Saudi is going through
its transformation as well. So, it is the right
stage to be investing in the country, right
stage to be there supporting the country on
its growth journey and it is the right stage
to be part of this journey from the very
beginning,” he said.
Another decisive factor for Dr Ali to consider
in the merits of operating Trend Micro, out
of Saudi Arabia, are the economies of scale
available inside the country. These vastly
outnumber others in GCC and the rest of the
Middle East region, except for Egypt.
A key reason for the global security
vendor to put its weight behind moving
into the country has also been the visible
commitment by the government of Saudi
Arabia. “This business decision would not
have been easy or would not have been
something that a lot of companies in the
region would actually follow through with
if they have not seen the commitment that
is happening from the Saudi government,”
said Dr Ali.
The release of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030
has thrown into the spotlight the importance
of public-private partnerships in the ICT
sector. The criteria for selection of an ICT
vendor supplier inside Saudi Arabia is
increasingly moving away from global role
play towards an in-country one. In the past,
when oil prices were at historic highs, it
was the technology brand and name that
reigned supreme.
At that time, a price list did not even
historically matter. Today, the metrics have
changed. It is about what investments, what
partnerships and what success story an ICT
vendor is bringing into the country.
When dealing with a technology vendor,
the preference is to deal with those who are
interested in operating out of Saudi Arabia
on a longer-term basis and not as mere
suppliers. And this extends into the Saudi
private sector as well.
Dr Ali said: “The government or any other
organisation is not looking for a vendor.
They are looking for a partner willing to
work hand-in-hand and create a great
success story. The government now has the
option to choose vendors who are really
committed to the country, versus choosing
the vendor for the sake of the brand or sake
of the neighbour.”
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and UAE’s
Vision 2021 are drawing attention to the
increasingly important role that needs to be
played by technology vendors, as well as IT
security vendors such as Trend Micro.
Vision road maps, to become smart and
usable by people, imply that enterprises
need to transform into digital businesses.
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