Page 54 - SAMENA Trends - January 2021

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

ARTICLE

Why Digitalization Will Remain a Driving Force for Middle

East Economies

Clearly, the events of 2020 have prompted
digital adoption on a never-before-seen
level. It is now time to double down on

putting tech innovation to work in spurring
economic advancement.

While 2020 was a challenging year for many individuals,
businesses, and governments across the Middle East, there is
one silver lining that arose: digitalization was accelerated as tech
innovation occurred more rapidly than almost ever before.

From healthcare to education and retail, businesses and
consumers have rapidly increased their use of connected
technologies in the Middle East. Digitalization strategies have
been a must for any organization looking to keep up with and
better serve an increasingly connected society. Several corporate
CEOs have reported that their companies’ digital adoption grew
in a few months in ways that would have otherwise taken three
to four years, or possibly longer. One KPMG survey of CEOs in
the summer of 2020 found that for 75% of their enterprises, the
crisis sped up their efforts to digitize operations and create next-
generation operating models by months, or even years.

Clearly, the events of 2020 have prompted digital adoption on a
Charles Yang never-before-seen level. It is now time to double down on putting
tech innovation to work in spurring economic advancement.
President
Huawei Middle East The reality is that healthcare providers, businesses, governments,
and more are still searching for new ways to achieve continuity
while overcoming lockdowns and other disruptions, as well as
serving their customers in the best way possible. Sunil Gupta, a
business administration professor at Harvard Business School,
put it quite well in noting that crises have a tendency to drive big
changes and innovation, and that big companies need to take
advantage of this time to question the fundamentals of their
business and reimagine their business.

54 JANUARY 2021