Saudi Arabia's Most Influential Ict Leaders Gather Online For Virtual Idc Cio Summit

International Data Corporation (IDC) last week hosted more than 200 senior ICT leaders on its industry-leading virtual platform for the 10th annual edition of its IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit. Running under the theme 'The Race to Reinvent: Connecting Leaders to Empower Digital Transformation', the digital event took place on place on October 14 and offered an unrivaled immersive experience for all participants as they seamlessly engaged in content-rich presentations and panel discussions, connected with exhibitors via video chat, and interacted with IDC analysts and key industry players in designated networking zones.

With more than 30 pioneering ICT suppliers and organizations taking part, the event showcased exclusive insights from Eng. Ali Al Asiri, CEO of Yesser, Saudi Arabia's e-Government Program, which was the event's Strategic Partner, and Eng. Faisal Ahmed Bakhashwain, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation within the Kingdom's Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development, which was the event's Government Partner.

"The IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2020 comes at a time when we are seeking to achieve higher levels of digital maturity in both public and private sector organizations," said Al Asiri. "The use of emerging technologies such as AI, cloud computing, blockchain, and IoT will play a critical role as we strive to develop the digital capabilities and competencies required to optimize our performance and align ourselves with the wider vision of the Kingdom, especially as the world looks to Saudi Arabia's technological and digital capabilities in crisis management and their effective use by government entities in serving the Saudi community."

The IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2020 agenda incorporated individually themed sessions that offered expert guidance on the latest trends in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital leadership, the future of work, intelligent automation, next-generation resilience and continuity, big data analytics, and cloud, to name just a few.

"Digital leadership will be critical for Saudi organizations as they look to unleash the full potential of digital transformation," said Hamza Naqshbandi, IDC's Regional Director for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. "With the global COVID-19 pandemic adding yet more complexity to the digital decision-making process, today's event provided an ideal opportunity to advise the Kingdom's businesses and government organizations on enabling competitive business models and identifying opportunities for growth and sustainability in these unprecedented times."

The event culminated with the IDC Digital Excellence Awards 2020 as IDC recognized the efforts of Saudi Arabia's foremost IT leaders in conceptualizing and successfully delivering game-changing transformation initiatives for their organizations across four different categories. The winners were as follows:

• 'CIO of the Year' – Sultan Daifullah Abukoshaim (Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization)
• 'CISO of the Year' – Khalid Suliman Al-Harbi (Saudi Aramco)
• 'Excellence in Dıgıtal Innovatıon' – Eng. Faisal Ahmed Bakhashwain (Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development)
• 'Excellence in Line-of-Business Transformation Excellence' – Sajan Nair (Herfy Food Services)

The judging panel for the IDC Digital Excellence Awards 2020 included senior IDC figures and the following esteemed members of IDC's CIO Advisory Board for Saudi Arabia:

• Eng. Ali Al Asiri, CEO, Yesser
• Mr. Hisham A. Alsheikh, Deputy CEO, Yesser
• H.E. Dr. Esam A. Alwagait, Director, National Information Center
• Mr. Darryn Warner, Executive Director of IT, NEOM
• Mr. Ibrahim Almoqbil, Chief Support Services Officer, General Entertainment Authority
• Mr. Saleh Saleh, CIO & Executive Vice President of IT, National Commercial Bank

IDC would like to thank the following partners for their invaluable contribution to the success of the IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2020: Summit Partners – VMware, Trend Micro, Red Hat, Software AG, Nokia, and Fortinet; Platinum Partners – VMware Carbon Black, Nutanix, Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, Automation Anywhere, UiPath, Oracle, and BMC Software; Technology Focus Group Partners – BlackBerry, Google Cloud, Rimini Street, Nahil Computers, HCL Technologies, OpenText, Cybereason, DETASAD, and Mindware / RSA; Exhibit Partners – Pure Storage, Hawsabah, Lenovo, and CEQUENS; Strategic Partners – Yesser and Dubai Internet City; Government Partner – Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development.