Two-thirds of Saudi firms see IIoT as critical to growth: Poll

RIYADH – A new report by Honeywell, the global technology leader, has revealed that two-thirds of medium-to-large organizations in Saudi Arabia (66%) believe Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies are critical to business operations, or will become critical in the next five years.

Honeywell partnered with YouGov and IDC to launch the “IIoT Market Spotlight – UAE & Saudi Arabia” study, which analyzes the views of approximately 250 C-level executives at companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia across the buildings and cities, transport and logistics and industrial sectors. The report features insights from interviews with executives to gauge their perceptions, degree of implementation and investment outlook on IIoT-enabled technologies and digitalization initiatives within their organizations.

Norm Gilsdorf, president for Honeywell, High Growth Regions, Middle East, Russia and Customs Union, said: “Digitalization initiatives and Industrial Internet of Things technologies are revolutionizing the way companies across the Middle East operate, by connecting disparate systems across industrial operations to derive previously untapped information that can drive new growth.”

“Our survey reflects a strong, and growing, appetite to embrace digitalization across Saudi Arabia. Our customers are generating more data from increasingly connected operations, and are asking for technologies to aggregate this data and convert it into insights that drive profitability. Through the right combination of hardware, software, analytics and cybersecurity, these companies are poised to realize the gains Industry 4.0 has to offer,” added Gilsdorf.

Increasing the performance of operations was highlighted as a main benefit by survey respondents in Saudi Arabia currently leveraging IIoT solutions (51%). Time savings came in second as a key benefit (50%) and increased revenues came third (38%).

Almost half of Saudi companies are already investing in IIoT today: 40% of decision-makers surveyed say their companies are already investing either moderately or heavily in IIoT.

The report also found out that the majority of Saudi companies surveyed plan to increase IIoT investments in the next five years: 64% of the decision-makers say their companies will increase investments in IIoT.

Further, cybersecurity will become more critical: Executives also report a growing appetite for investments in cybersecurity solutions in the next five years (68%).

Moreover, the report noted that fears over capabilities and staff training are holding firms back: A lack of digital culture (50%) and a lack of qualified staff and training (46%) are cited as key hurdles to IIoT adoption in Saudi Arabia.

As part of its commitment to advancing digital transformation in the region, Honeywell will open a new training and knowledge-sharing hub for IIoT technologies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company has already launched two innovation and knowledge-exchange hubs in the UAE in the past year, representing continued significant investment in digitalization efforts.

Honeywell has been operating in Saudi Arabia for more than 50 years. Headquartered in Riyadh, the company has offices across the Kingdom that supply cutting-edge technologies to key industries.

Honeywell’s solutions blend physical products with advanced software to create value for customers while supporting long-term national development visions and economic diversification.