International Data Corporation (IDC) last week hosted more than 200 senior ICT leaders on its industry-leading solid platform for the 10th yearly edition of its IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit. With more than 30 pioneering ICT organizations taking part, the race showcased special insights from Eng. Ali Al Asiri, CEO of Yesser, Saudi Arabia's e-Government The program, 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, the event's Government Partner.

"The IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2020 comes at a time when we are seeking to reach greater 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 significant role as we strive to develop the digital capabilities and competencies needed to optimize our performance and align personally with the wider vision of the Kingdom, particularly as the world seems to Saudi Arabia's technological and digital skills in crisis management and their effective use by management things in serving the Saudi community..

"Running under the theme 'The Race to Reinvent: Connecting Leaders to Empower Digital Transformation', the fully immersive virtual event saw members seamlessly engage in content-rich offerings, connect with exhibitors via video chat and communicate with key industry players in selected networking zones. The agenda incorporated expert guidance on the latest trends in cloud, AI, cybersecurity, digital leadership, smart automation, and the future of work, 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 cost yet more complexity to the digital decision-making process, the event presented an ideal opportunity to advise the Kingdom's companies and government institutions on enabling ambitious business models and identifying possibilities for growth and sustainability in these unprecedented times."

The event ended with the IDC Digital Excellence Awards 2020 as IDC recognized the efforts of Saudi Arabia's foremost IT leaders in delivering game-changing change initiatives across four different categories. The winners were as follows:

"CIO of the Year" Sultan D. Abukoshaim (Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization)
"CISO of the Year" Khalid S. Al-Harbi (Saudi Aramco)
"Excellence in Dgtal Innovaton" Eng. Faisal A. Bakhashwain (Ministry of Human Resource and
Social Development)
"Excellence in Line-of-Business Transformation Excellence" Sajan Nair (Herfy Food Services)
The judging panel included senior IDC figures and the following industry luminaries from IDC's CIO
Advisory Board for Saudi Arabia:
Eng. Ali Al Asiri, CEO, Yesser
Mr HishamA. 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 thanks its valued partners for their support: 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.