Information Technology Strengths and Weaknesses
When looking at Saudi Arabia no competitive advantages form information technology can be identified at this time. The country has fallen behind in terms of IT when compared to its neighbors in the region, only now is the country starting to catch up. The only advantage the country might have is that it has the potential of becoming the regions communication gateway, in a few years if planned well. The FLAG access point, the earth stations and several private joint ventures are capable of putting the country in such position. On the other hand, the only strength I can identify in the countries IT is the current infrastructure, being the most modern in the region it lacks many of the weak areas the others had.
Another strong area of IT in the country is the software and hardware industry; currently Saudi Arabia develops and produces a high percentage of software used in the country and in the region. If such industry was allowed to flourish soon it might become a second source of income for the country. Regarding the hardware industry, Saudi firms have achieved a level of reliability that allowed them to be identified as OEMs. This is a first in the region, but can only be sustained by future government incentives. FDI must be encouraged in Saudi Arabia for such industries if being an IT power in the region was a goal.
The main reasons why Saudi Arabia is behind in the area of IT can be contributed to several factors, these include:
These are just some of the reasons why Saudi Arabia is far behind many countries in IT, and unless some of these issues are dealt with progress will be hindered.