National Forum on Business Transformation: Opportunities and Challenges

The forum aimed to present the concepts, trends and future directions of business transformation, from theoretical frameworks to applications. Its theme centered on the links between Saudi Vision 2030 as socio-economic transformation, digital transformation and organizational transformation in Saudi Arabia.

The event took place under the patronage of Prof. Abdullah Al-Rubaish, President of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), who attended along with Dr. Omar Mummar, Vice President for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the deans of IAU colleges. Dr. Hoda AboAlsamh, chair of the event and Vice Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Research at the College of Business Administration, thanked the university for hosting a forum on a topic of national interest as the Kingdom transforms and diversifies its economy in pursuit of Vision 2030.

Prof. Muhammad Khurram Khan of the Center of Excellence in Information Assurance (CoEIA), King Saud University, was invited to deliver a speech on "Cyber Insecurity: A Stumbling Block for Digital Transformation of SMEs". "Digital transformation offers a multitude of opportunities for businesses to grow with faster, smarter and more connected systems. It is not just about technology, but about how organizations keep up with the demands of their digital-intensive consumers to sustain their business in a competitive global market," he said.

He explained that digital transformation in the era of IoT, cloud computing, big data and 5G also exposes organizations to unexpected cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, and that small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide, face particular difficulty due to limited budgets and resources. With Saudi Vision 2030 aiming to raise the SME contribution to GDP from 20% to 35%, a resilient ecosystem is needed to protect SMEs from cyberattacks and data breaches.

Prof. Khurram also discussed strategies to help SMEs pursue a secure digital transformation, and offered recommendations to policy and decision makers for building a resilient digital transformation ecosystem for local SMEs.

Other notable speakers included Dr. Khalid Al-Ghamdi (Head of Digital Centers of Excellence, Saudi Aramco), Dr. Khaled Al-Falah, Dr. Mamdouh Najjar, Dr. Moudhi Al-Jamea (ICT Academy, STC), Dr. Khalid Al-Eisa, Dr. Abdullah Almuhaideb (Dean of the College of Computer Science and Information Technology, IAU) and Dr. Mourad Mansour (KFUPM). The event was attended by students, faculty members, researchers, professionals and officials.