A joint study conducted by Siemens and the Ideation Center at the management consultancy Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), part of the PwC network, has emphasized the benefits businesses in the GCC stand to gain from digitalization, and outlined a roadmap of how they can undertake a fully holistic approach to embarking on a digital transformation.
Senior executives from Siemens Middle East and Strategy& launched the “Preparing for the digital era: the State of Digitalization in GCC Businesses” report at Dubai’s 3D-printed Office of the Future, highlighting key findings from the joint study that are intended to help encourage the progress and evolution of digitalization among the region’s businesses.
Of the 300 companies surveyed, 60 percent believe that digitalization has the potential to create new business models or lead to a more open culture of innovation. However, only 3 percent of organizations believe they are at an advanced stage of their digital transformation process, with only 18 percent using the cloud and 30 percent using big data and analytics specifically. The study also found that GCC companies are lagging behind their government and consumer counterparts when it comes to using digital technologies.
For example, GCC governments have acknowledged the economic and social benefits of digitalization, incorporating them into their ambitious strategies. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Transformation Plan 2020, Smart Dubai, Qatar’s Connect 2020 ICT Policy, and Oman’s digital strategy e-Oman all stress the importance of the use of digital technologies. Similarly, GCC consumers are among the most tech-savvy in the world. The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have more than 100 percent smartphone penetration rates and young people across the region are playing an important role in influencing the development of new technologies.
“Governments and consumers in the GCC have been rapid adopters of digital technologies, and our report tells us the benefits of digitalization are widely acknowledged by the majority of organizations,” said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO, Siemens Middle East and UAE. “However, many companies in the region have some catching up to do, and our research suggests there is still work to be done to encourage the understanding that digitalization is a transformation journey, requiring a holistic approach.”

Source: Arab News