During HUAWEI DAY KSA 2020 — held exclusively online on December 16 and exploring the key theme of “Creating New Value Together” — thought leaders from across the government and enterprise sectors shared the latest developments in digital transformation, and outlined the newest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) products and solutions. Simply put, HUAWEI DAY KSA 2020 opened the door to the possibilities of the digital world, serving as an effective platform for business and strategic dialogue.
Opening the event, Terry He, CEO of Huawei Saudi Arabia, outlined the company’s vision in a keynote titled “Hi, Intelligent Saudi.” He elaborated on how Vision 2030 has now entered the second five-year development plan, and would open the age of intelligence for governments and enterprises in Saudi Arabia. As a global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei offers a diverse range of innovative ICT products and solutions, and has extensive experience working in the government and enterprise domains.
During the event, it was noted that, according to OpenSignal, experience tests have been conducted in 12 leading 5G countries, and that Saudi Arabia ranked number one in terms of average download rate and user experience improvement. Huawei has worked with operators and partners to achieve an optimal 5G user experience. Together with its partners, Huawei will continue working to bring 5G into even more industries — such as oil and gas, power, government, and healthcare — meeting the different requirements of diverse customers.
Other highlights from HUAWEI DAY KSA 2020 included the announcement that Huawei will increase investment in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) field in Saudi Arabia. On October 22, 2020, Huawei signed a strategic partnership with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) at the Global AI Summit to support the development of Arabic language Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) AI services. The partnership also covered the development of local AI talent, and the establishment of a national AI capability platform.
During the day, HUAWEI CLOUD officially launched its services in the Middle East. Cloud is the most suitable platform to unleash computing power today. This will provide cost-effective cloud services for all industries across the region including Saudi Arabia. Mr. He said that with the collaborative development of 5G, cloud, AI, computing, and industrial applications, the country can unleash the incredible potential of digital technologies, and create new value for governments and enterprises, working together with Huawei to embrace the digital economy and a smart society.
In a panel discussion under the theme of ‘Innovative ICT Empowers Smart Cities’, Dr. Noha Ahmed Al-Harthi, Technology Lead for Technology & Digital Sector of NEOM, said, “NEOM’s ambition is to build the world’s first truly digitally sustainable and cognitive environment which will be the engine for not only Saudi, but also the region and the entire world. From the technology view, its foundation should have three core capabilities: Connectivity, Compute, and Contextualize. We need technology providers like Huawei who can contribute to that.”
During the event, Eng. Fouad Alsherebi, Chairman of Nesma Telecom & Technology, shared stories about Nesma Telecom & Technology’s cooperation with Huawei. Nesma is one of the leading companies in Saudi Arabia in communications technology and energy infrastructure, with a team of highly-skilled experts who have both the required experience and the know-how to meet the needs of clients and markets. In 2020, Huawei and Nesma won a new major project as well as several other strategic projects in NEOM. Eng. Fouad Alsherebi also said that Nesma hoped to continue to enhance the two companies’ partnership, develop even better digital service solutions, and help Saudi Arabia achieve its digital transformation goals.