A senior PwC Middle East executive claims that the drive for transformative strategies has become essential for companies all around Saudi Arabia in the quickly changing digital world.
After the release of the company’s most recent report, “Digital Acceleration: Fuelling the Ambition for Transformation Success in Saudi Arabia,” partner Marwan Khamis of PwC Middle East stressed to Arab News the critical role that emerging digital technologies play in helping organisations in the Kingdom achieve their strategic goals and experience sustainable growth.
At the halfway point of “Saudi Vision 2030,” Khamis emphasised that organisations are actively pursuing transformation initiatives. Of particular interest is leveraging emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, to improve decision-making, efficiency, resource utilisation, and compliance.
He remarked, “AI is coming into play,” while speaking outside the Global Project Management Forum in Riyadh. In a recent poll, 73% of Middle Eastern CEOs said they felt that to ensure they were meeting their beneficiaries’ needs, they would have to implement AI within the next three years.
According to the paper, GenAI holds great potential for automating repetitive work and optimising project management procedures.
Organisations may now focus more on strategic growth efforts and building strong customer connections thanks to automation.
Businesses can now analyse large datasets, find operational efficiencies, and redefine industry best practices with the help of GenAI thanks to its integration of real-time data and sophisticated training programmes.
Some 90% of respondents identified resource availability and quick decision-making as the main difficulties facing C-suite executives, a finding that can be reinforced by utilising emerging technology.
Nearly trailing this were respondents’ 80% opposition to change and 7% who mentioned data availability.
As a result, overcoming these obstacles calls for a calculated strategy that takes into account technological developments as well as the cultural and economic elements that affect the rate and scope of change.
With the statement, “As businesses are moving into their transformation journey, project management is becoming more and more significant as a major driver for them to progress into that transformation,” Khamis emphasised the crucial role that project management plays in entities’ transformation journeys.
“According to the recent CEO research that we’ve published in PwC, 48% of all Middle East CEOs believe that their businesses need to transform within the next few years,” the executive said about the increased awareness among CEOs in the region of the need for development.
Based on PwC research, Kamis presented the most effective techniques to make these desired shifts a reality.
“The most successful project management and transformation management offices often concentrate on two areas. One is encouraging an environment at work where all experts and project managers may work together productively. Adopting digital solutions as part of the transformation process is the second,” he stated.
Khamis went on to say that effective change in both the public and private sectors now depends heavily on excellent execution, particularly as the Saudi market approaches 2030.
The National Events Centre (NEC) in Saudi Arabia is a prime example of the revolutionary potential of digital technologies.
By utilising PwC Middle East’s Transform Hub, the NEC has become a leader in providing top-notch events and experiences in Saudi Arabia and the surrounding area.
This demonstrates how, in the dynamic business environment of the Kingdom, digital innovation can spur long-term success, innovation, and operational efficiency.