The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and SAP, the global technology company, have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration areas regarding SAP's cloud services and software solutions to power the country's communications and information technology landscape and to capitalize on SAP's thought leadership on technology innovation. The collaboration will see both MCIT and SAP working in various areas of joint cooperation that will take advantage of SAP's cloud and on-premise software solutions, as well as training and knowledge transfer initiatives. MCIT and SAP will establish a specialized SAP training program to develop the skills of young Saudi professionals in core and emerging technologies. In addition, the areas of joint cooperation start with boosting Saudi Arabia's position as a technology hub to accelerate technology adoption through an advanced eco-system. MCIT and SAP's planned collaboration will also include public sector digitization efforts, with a goal to support and accelerate the Kingdom's digital transformation. SAP will work with MCIT to accelerate the diversification of investments in the Kingdom through its presence and expertise, while providing cloud services and software technology solutions in the telecoms and smart cities domain. Deputy Minister for Technology at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Nawaf Alhoshan commented: "Our partnership with SAP will accelerate our ambitious goals to accelerate the Kingdom's role as a global technology hub and will enable a more robust digital experiences across various sectors". "The collaboration will also ensure skills development and entrepreneurial enablement by assisting and helping start-ups scale through SAP.io, and optimize the Kingdom's economic diversification strategy and towards a digital economy", added Eng. Alhoshan. SAP will also work closely with MCIT to accelerate and scale start-up innovations with SAP.io, while bringing together innovators from every region, industry and line of business to transform how businesses run in the Kingdom. SAP will also organize local start-up challenges and jointly organize a Hackathon to review local ecosystem start-ups for global accelerator programs that run two times a year in 10 global locations. Commenting on the partnership, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Middle East North, Ahmed Al-Faifi said: "Aligning with MCIT is a milestone achievement for SAP as our technology solutions form a strong foundation for the Kingdom's digital transformation goals. Not only will we work with the public sector for enhanced digitization, but we will work in collaboration with MCIT to ensure the delivery of sustainable entrepreneurship platforms for upcoming businesses and commit to preparing the youth with the technology skills they require to lead the Kingdom." The signing was completed at LEAP22 in Riyadh, a global technology platform for future technologies and disruptive technology professionals from around the world.
