The world is entering the fourth industrial revolution where businesses and even governments have to rethink their models with the fast pace of technology, according to experts and industry leaders who discussed challenges and opportunities of digital transformation at the Kingdom Digital Show in Riyadh this week.

Never has there been a convergence between the digital and the physical environments. Experts discussed digital transformation in enterprise, financial and government realms.

IT professionals view digitization a key driver of Vision 2030 that has put a roadmap for Saudi Arabia to diversify its economy.

Digitization trends to look out for the coming years:

— Hyperconnectivity

Hyperconnectivity will increase more than ever in households and businesses. 5G coming to the Kingdom soon will bring more features and higher speed.

— Supercomputing

Massive computing is available today, giving access to computers to smart algorithms and enormous capabilities.

— Cloud

Cloud has already been adopted and it’s growing in the coming years where it will deliver optimized cost and capabilities for businesses.

— Smarter world

A smarter world needs to be met with leverage. Otherwise, it can be a negative disruptor to industries.

— Blockchain

It can be considered as the Internet of money as it has the ability to turn currency into digital and is regarded as more reliable. Blockchain is a disrupter in that it eliminates processes in financial transactions like loans, wire transfers, and other services.

Source: SAP