Riyadh - Mubasher: New technologies will create more than 63,400 jobs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the end of 2022, especially with the growing popularity of cloud services.
The implementation of nationwide initiatives such as Saudi Vision 2030 and the efforts of the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission to organize the cloud services, and other initiatives focused on banking, healthcare, transportation and education, has led to a rise in information technology (IT) spending and employment, according to new research by the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The benefits emanating from this digital transformation trend are set to generate around SAR 26.04 billion in net new revenues over the next five years.
IDC predicts spending on public cloud services in Saudi Arabia will almost quadruple over the next five years, from SAR 427.68 million in 2017 to SAR 1.57 billion in 2022.
Between the end of 2017 and the end of 2022, adoption of cloud services will create nearly 55,000 new jobs and the Microsoft technology ecosystem will add 8,400 jobs for a total of 63,400 in net job creation.
The Microsoft ecosystem is a prolific generator of downstream revenues, accounting for SAR 11.20 for every 1 Saudi Riyal that Microsoft produces, according to IDC estimates.
The research also that ICT spending in Saudi Arabia would reach SAR 43.97 billion in 2022, and that IT employment in the kingdom will surpass 270,000 by that time.
