Success Stories

SAP

Many of the largest clients in SAP’s portfolio are based in Saudi Arabia, including world-class players such as Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.

To accommodate its aggressive growth targets in the region, SAP announced in 2008 that it plans to locate 30% of its Middle East headcount in the Kingdom. In March 2008, Sergio Maccotta, managing director of SAP’s MENA division indicated that the majority of new Saudi-based staff would be local hires.

"Saudi Arabia has always been one of our strongest countries in the Middle East, and we are continuing to reinforce our own presence there. Customers demand more local presence, we can't have only people from outside,” he said. Following the acquisition of SAP Arabia, SAP now operates in Saudi Arabia as SAP KSA, with offices in Riyadh and Khobar.

Cisco Systems

Cisco has signed agreements to design the information and communications (ICT) infrastructure for three of Saudi Arabia’s planned Economic Cities. The scale of this Greenfield project provides a “blank slate” opportunity for Cisco to pioneer the most advanced innovations in communications infrastructure.

Cisco plans to design the infrastructure for fully-networked buildings and residences, linked together by a high-capacity fiber-optic backbone, along with ubiquitous wireless connectivity. These investments are integral to providing the Economic Cities with the most advanced basis for 21st century commerce, and will enable applications such as smart elevators, “invisible” security, RFID inventory tracking, and automated transportations systems.

In addition, Cisco has announced plans to invest US$265 million in Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s initiative to become a “connected Kingdom.” Over the next five years, Cisco plans to:
• Increase its workforce in the Kingdom from 70 to 600
• Provide leasing and other financial options to Cisco customers
• Create a Cisco technology and entrepreneurship innovation center
• Sponsor a Saudi technology and entrepreneurship institute
• Establish 100 networking training centers to provide joint technical programs with local universities
• Support provision of Internet connections to 2,000 underserved homes

Cisco’s NETVERSITY (Networking Academy program) has partnered with public education organizations to provide advanced business and technical training to Saudi students, and Cisco has hired 100% of the program’s graduates.

Cisco has operated in the Kingdom since 1998, with offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar. In 2006, Cisco called Saudi Arabia the world’s fastest growing region in terms of networking technology adoption.

Cisco has worked on other “smart city” projects such as Dubai Internet City, Hong Kong’s Cyberport, and Belgium’s I-City. Its recent and planned investments in the Kingdom are examples of the large-scale opportunities provided by the Kingdom’s expansive investment initiatives.

Etisalat

As one of the country’s top growth markets, Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications industry is attracting significant foreign investment.

In 2004, United Arab Emirates operator Etisalat paid US$3.3 billion for the Kingdom’s second GSM license. Etihad Etisalat has since gained 30% of the Saudi mobile market and offers a range of 3G services. The Kingdom’s third mobile license was awarded to a Kuwaiti-led consortium, which made a US$6 billion bid against six other companies.

Competition is propelling Saudi Arabia towards its goal of acquiring one of the region’s most advanced and diversified telecommunications markets. Rapid growth is expected to continue due to still-low penetration rates across many fixed-line and mobile services.

Newly appointed Saudi providers, the Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco), Hong Kong-based PCCW and US-based Verizon Communications have formed consortia with local interests.