Whilst the Twenty Teens was the time of digital transformation, history will undoubtedly remember the 2020’s as the decade of ‘tech intensity’

What though is ‘Tech Intensity’ and why are Saudi’s business leaders increasingly being advised to factor it into their business plans? 

Those in the know are telling us that tech intensity is a must have for any business interested in staying ahead of their competition but if you’re not aware of what it is, that could be a tall order.

In the past, if you came across job ads for tech related jobs like software engineers, the companies looking for them were almost always technology companies. Today though there’s an equal or greater chance that the company doing the advertising for a software engineer is going to be a non-tech company. In fact, according to Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, non-tech companies are now hiring techs at a faster rate than tech companies are hiring them!

It’s a trend that’s not going to abate either. On the contrary, current indications are that the further we move into this decade, the more we’re going to see the demand for tech employees in non-tech companies accelerating. In fact, some sectors are already hiring more technology experts than they are traditional experts for that sector. In the automotive industry for example the demand for software engineers is now outstripping the demand for mechanical engineers!

Granted, many of these technical experts are headed for IT departments as businesses ramp up their use of technology. However, across Saudi Arabia, and Africa and the Middle East generally, current skills research tells us that we’ll also see a significant increase in demand for tech experts across other departments. Notably the region’s Finance, HR, Operations, and Marketing departments will increasingly find that if they want to stay competitive and/or functional they must address their current lack of digital expertise. 

This is where ‘tech intensity’ comes into play. ‘Tech intensity’ is a term Microsoft uses to describe what will undoubtedly need to become a key business imperative for decision makers across Saudi Arabia and the MEA region generally.

This brings us nicely back to our original question – what is tech intensity?

Most Saudi companies and businesses have adopted or implemented technological solutions and strategies to some degree. The rate at which they will continue to adopt or implement technology whilst also building up their own digital competence is what Microsoft is calling ‘tech intensity’.

It’s this latter aspect – building up their own digital capabilities – that is proving to be most beneficial for the companies that are doing it. 

Companies have been purchasing technology solutions for several decades now, usually by employing tech companies to develop and implement digital tools for them. Many follow it up by investing in their own IT department, or by taking out ongoing contracts with tech companies. These solutions and tools have increased productivity, driven innovation, and improved efficiencies.

However, those companies that have taken this a step further, and begun using these tools to develop their own in-house digital solutions for their own particular business needs as well, are becoming increasingly successful. Specifically tailored artificial intelligence solutions are a good example. In many cases, these solutions have given them a significant edge over their competitors. This is what experts are referring to when they say businesses in general across Saudi Arabia and the MEA region must increasingly plan to adopt similar strategies ie improve their own ‘tech intensity’ curve, if they want to remain competitive, and in business.

For many Saudi and MEA based businesses, tech intensity has already arrived. They have already implemented advanced technological solutions, like AI, across key business areas including operations, research and development, sales and marketing.  Further, results from the Artificial Intelligence Maturity Report in Saudi Arabia study indicate that many Saudi businesses clearly understand the significance of AI and how it will change their business operations. In most cases, these AI solutions will be designed, developed and implemented by the companies themselves, using the digital tools and technology they’ve installed. This is ‘tech intensity’ at work.

Further examples of tech intensity can be seen in companies that are using technologies like block chain, the IoT, machine learning and mixed reality to develop their own digital solutions and capabilities.  The State of Tech Intensity Study indicates that 75% of companies, across a range of industries, are currently doing this. Airbus for example has developed ‘mixed-reality’ solutions using purchased technology that will, amongst other things, help its employees safely build better aircraft faster. Will they reach their target goal of 20,000 new aircraft by 2040? Time will tell but they’re off to a promising start with technology like the Microsoft HoloLens 2. Airbus have incorporated the mixed reality headsets into their design process so that designers can ‘virtually’ test their aircraft designs for safety, function and compliance long before the first nuts and bolts are tightened. The headsets have already achieved a remarkable 80% boost in productivity.

Airbus executives aren’t the only ones that now recognise the importance of building on existing digital infrastructure to develop unique solutions and products that will give them a competitive edge. Saudi and MEA business execs and leaders generally are excited about the potential benefits to be gained by providing their employees with digital and technological tools that will improve productivity, safety, and job satisfaction.

Another example closer to home is the UAE’s Bee’ah. The company purchased and implemented Microsoft Azure across its business platform. From there, they designed their own cloud and built digital platforms that allow the company’s customers to apply for various permits online using MS Azure BlockChain. The result is faster processing of applications and issuing of permits.

Tech intensity is central to the way Microsoft does business. By developing platforms that MS customers and partners can build on to create their own unique digital solutions, the company is empowering more people and enabling more organisations to achieve more.

The 2010’s were the era of the Cloud, and all the digital transformations that technology made possible. The 2020’s will be the era during which Saudi and MEA businesses will increasingly use these technologies to develop unique digital solutions that will help them gain an advantage in an increasingly competitive economy. It’s shaping up to be an exciting and interesting decade!