Communications Commission Organizes Forum on Challenges and Opportunities for Information Technology Development in the Kingdom

The Communications and Information Technology Commission is organizing, on the 25th of Jumada al-Awwal 1431H corresponding to May 9, 2010, a forum on information technology in the Kingdom titled "Challenges and Opportunities for Information Technology Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh.

The forum, which hosts prominent figures alongside academics and professionals in the field of information technology, aims to stimulate dialogue on developing the information technology industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is hoped to serve as a cornerstone for information technology policymakers, thought and industry leaders, and technology stakeholders to study the current challenges in the Kingdom in addition to assessing future opportunities.

During this forum, the Commission is launching a report on "The State of Information Technology in the Kingdom," the information in which is based on numerous studies conducted by the Commission, drawing on approved research and study sources. The report provides guidance and general direction to key stakeholders regarding the challenges, opportunities, and future threats in the Kingdom's information technology sector. In its first edition, it also provides an overview of the information technology market in the Kingdom, in addition to addressing both the enablers and obstacles to technology use and the level of spending on it. It also discusses important opportunities for building the information technology industry in the Kingdom, in addition to discussing the main challenge to developing the sector, represented by the low level of adequacy in the availability of skilled information technology specialists.

For his part, the Commission's official spokesperson, Mr. Sultan Al-Malik, explained that the hopes and ambitions behind organizing this forum are great, particularly as it is held with the participation of representatives from the world's leading information technology providers, alongside prominent Saudi academics and researchers in the Kingdom, to discuss the role of information technology in meeting the needs of economic growth, developing national talent in information technology, in addition to assessing the positive impact of knowledge-based industries on economic development.