Top 3 Barriers to Digital Transformation and How Saudi Arabia Enterprises Can Overcome Them
Yasser Zain
Managing Partner - Unikomm (ServiceNow First Elite Partner in KSA since 2014)
While the world sulked in silence over the global pandemic -- and countries across the globe were hit hard -- Saudi Arabia was hard at work fast-tracking their digital transformation initiatives across all industries.
Now, it's clear. The KSA is at the forefront of digital transformation.
According to the most recent Digital Transformation Index , 90% of companies in the UAE and in the KSA were able to accelerate their workflow automation programs in a matter of months. Compared to the global standard of 80%, it is safe to say that the region is ahead of the rest of the world.
However, launching new, automated programs is just the beginning of the digital transformation process. The second phase is the continuous optimization and transformation of digital efforts to ensure success.
It is in this phase wherein businesses experience barriers towards achieving their digital transformation objectives.
Top 3 Digital Transformation Barriers in UAE and Saudi Arabia
As reported by the Digital Transformation Index 2020, the three primary stumbling blocks determined by respondents among organizations in the Kingdom are associated with
Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Concerns
On average, 160,000 cyberattacks hit Saudi Arabia every day. With the majority of enterprises in the region expanding their digital transformation initiatives, this number could easily surge.?
To put this into perspective, the more data stored in an organization’s cloud, the more enticing they become for cybercriminals. Thus, it comes as no surprise that data privacy and cybersecurity is considered as the top digital innovation barrier by companies in the KSA.
For organizations that are aiming for successful digital transformation programs, this means one thing: privacy and cybersecurity are critical aspects they need to prioritize in order to avoid costly and disruptive security issues.?
In fact, cybersecurity preparedness is one of the key indicators of a Saudi Arabian organization’s digital transformation success. This is why 75% of CIOs in the region are ramping up their investments in data protection and cybersecurity.
The most ideal way to address this is through a comprehensive Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) strategy. This will provide enterprises with heightened data privacy and security while ensuring business continuity, automating regulatory compliance, and improving decision making.
While most enterprise leaders see GRC and IT security as two separate entities, past cybersecurity incidents have proven that unaddressed risks tend to impact multiple functions at the same time. Therefore, automated GRC and cybersecurity measures should work together in managing risks more proactively and in real-time.
ServiceNow offers a NIST CSF application that allows organizations to align and prioritize their cybersecurity activities according to their specific requirements, risk tolerances, and resources. It is fully enabled by the ServiceNow GRC suite and is directly linked to the Policy and Compliance Management, Risk Management, and Audit Management applications.
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Inability to Extract Valuable Insights from Data and/or Information Overload
Business Intelligence (BI) is essential for any enterprise to make accurate, time-critical decisions that will affect the entire organization’s digital transformation efforts. Thus, it relies highly on methods and technologies that collect and analyze data which will serve as the basis for the business direction.
When a company’s decision makers have access to data in real-time, they are able to extract more informed insights and develop strategic actions aligned to the business goals.
Unfortunately, a Saudi Arabia Business Intelligence case study shows that one of the major challenges among organizations in the region is data selection, interpretation, and deriving relevant insights for improved decision-making. As a result, it inhibits key decision makers to realize the best solutions to their organizational and digital transformation challenges.
For this reason, enterprise leaders need to equip themselves with efficient tools that will help collect, receive, analyze, and generate actionable insights. Companies that invest in the right technological advancements which provide predictive power and advanced AI technologies will have greater capabilities in remaining competitive. Such tools will allow them to gain critical insights, improve how they do business, and identify potential crises before they negatively impact business operations and market share.
Applications such as ServiceNow's Now Intelligence and Predictive Intelligence technologies empower businesses to access real-time analytics and smart recommendations to solve issues faster. By taking the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to a new level, data is automatically classified and analyzed while providing necessary visibility to ensure prediction accuracy.
For more information on Predictive Intelligence, click here or watch this video.
Lack of Economic Growth Due to Pandemic-related Disruption
The most recent digital transformation barrier observed by company leaders in Saudi Arabia is the global economy’s recession caused by the pandemic. Worldwide, the oil and gas industry is among the most severely affected industries were temporarily shut down and exports were suspended. Lockdown policies resulted in border closures that greatly impacted supply chains, heightened unemployment rates, and caused a drop in consumer demands.
In essence, the economic disruption brought to light more complex technological challenges in the region.
Despite government initiatives towards digital transformation, there are numerous challenges that surfaced which enterprises were not prepared to face:
Nonetheless, these are issues that can be addressed by reliable workflow automation platforms. These tools empower companies to operate offline, heighten their risk management and cybersecurity measures, improve customer support, and minimize maintenance costs.
While there are certain hurdles that get in the way of organizational transformation, business leaders have the power to identify and implement initiatives that will bring their companies to a better footing. Digital transformation may be implemented in achievable ways. Leaders are encouraged to pinpoint realistic improvements that they can currently accommodate because this will jumpstart their journey towards becoming a digitally mature company.
Barriers should not stop enterprises in the region from pursuing their digital transformation initiatives. If anything, business leaders should take these as challenges that they need to overcome in order to establish their position and remain competitive in their respective industries.
If you aren't sure how you can kickstart the process of solving your digital transformation challenges, Unikomm is here to help. As a leading ServiceNow partner, we have 8 years of experience in helping organizations transform their digital aspirations.
If you are interested in further fortifying your cybersecurity roadmap, here are some insights on how you can use a GRC strategy that combines the strengths of technology and your employees. Click here to download the white paper.