LEAP, one of the biggest tech events in the Middle East took place recently in Riyadh for the second year with more than 172,000 people in attendance. During the opening, Abdullah Alswaha, the Minister of Communication and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia has announced that the Arab kingdom has received US$9 billion in investments to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, tech startups, and enhance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The NEOM project is just one example of the Kingdom’s ambitious plans. NEOM is a new economic-technological area being promoted by Saudi Arabia in the northwest of the country, facing the Sinai Peninsula. The project aims to shift the economic focus from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, taking advantage of the proximity with Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, and to rival the urban innovations of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.

Recent reports suggest that Saudi Arabia is likely to spend $34.6 billion on information and communications technology, positioning it as a leader in the MENA region’s digital economic transformation. Companies like Commvault have been operating in the Kingdom for many years and are supporting key KSA entities on their digital transformation journeys.

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