Al Gihaz Holding | Interview with CIO Fathi Mughrabi

Saudi Arabia’s Al Gihaz Holding incorporates a group of companies in different domains, from power solutions contracting/manufacturing and communications, through to security solutions and creative design. The group is actively diversifying and acquiring more businesses to adapt to economic changes in the region.

Digital transformation at Al Gihaz informs – and is informed by – that changing operating model, as CIO Fathi Mughrabi explains: “Before, the company was dependent on projects coming from big companies like the Saudi Electricity Company, Aramco and others. We were not concentrating on marketing and business development. Usually, we were approached by the customer. Now, we are going to the customer through different channels and trying to understand and formalise the requirements to form new projects.” 

This ethos manifests in the three pillars constituting the transformation. The changing approach to customer experience serves as the first, while Mughrabi explains the other two: “Another is the transformation of operational processes. Our earlier processes were semi-manual or partially automated. Now we use technology and industrial best practice in addition to automation. Third is the business model transformation. Our competitors are benefiting from the new disruptive technologies introduced in the market by changing their offerings. We are working towards being a leader in the market, so we need to change the way the organisation's products and services are being offered.”

Opportunities for digital transformation to make a difference have come in different areas. “Digital transformation is a direction for the whole company and is sponsored by top management,” says Mughrabi. “We are looking to enhance performance, minimise costs and improve speed and accuracy. In addition, we are enhancing our offerings to customers. We need to be ahead of others, introducing new digital products and new services.” 

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