Technology to Help Unlock Potentials of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, as SMEs Account for 90 Percent of All of Kingdom’s Businesses
JEDDAH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — SAUDIA, the Kingdom’s national carrier and global enterprise software leader SAP, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to boost the Kingdom’s economy and employment opportunities.
In the Kingdom, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 90 percent of all businesses and 60 percent of total employment – but only 33 percent of total GDP, according to research firm Aranca.
In anticipation of the need for SMEs to boost their productivity and for the Kingdom’s workforce to be trained in the latest technology, SAUDIA will deploy SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to SMEs.
“As the Kingdom’s aviation sector continues to take off, we want to ensure that small- and medium-sized enterprises and high-flying university graduates will share this growth,” said Muhammad Ali M. Albakri, CIO & CFO – Saudi Airlines. “This business partnership with SAP demonstrates our commitment to helping train the workforce of the future in the technologies that will not only transform the aviation sector, but the Kingdom’s overall economy.”
Demonstrating the strong demand for technology skills, 60 percent of the Kingdom’s executives and employees said analytic skills would be needed over the next three years, and 44 percent said cloud capabilities would be important, according to the recent landmark survey “Workforce 2020” by Oxford Economics and SAP.
“We’re extending our business ties with SAUDIA for technology to unlock the Kingdom’s economic growth– particularly in SMEs enhancing their supply chain, management, and talent,” said Ahmed Al-Faifi, Managing Director, SAP Saudi Arabia. “We’re entering the Networked Economy era in which organizations not only need to have the right software in place, but also the trained employees to drive business transformation.”
Boosting employment opportunities for young Saudi nationals, SAUDIA aims to enroll high-achieving university graduates in an advanced SAP professional certification program.
SAUDIA has embarked on business transformation focused on improving customer experience, achieving greater operational excellence, and enhancing its competitive advantage.
Since 2008, SAUDIA has used SAP ERP software to manage day-to-day business, including SAP Customer Relationship Management for sales, customer service, and marketing; SAP Hybris for multi-channel e-commerce; SAP HANA, the in-memory data platform for real-time insights; and SAP Master Data Governance for centralizing data distribution and access.
SAUDIA and SAP signed an agreement to support the Kingdom’s workforce of the future and economy.
Top Row (Left to Right): Abdulaziz Al Hazmi, Deputy Director General, SAUDIA; Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP; Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Director General, Saudia; Sam Alkharrat, President, SAP MENA; Saleem Abu Taha, Account Executive, SAP Saudi Arabia.
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Mohammed AlBakri, the Executive Vice President of Finance, SAUDIA; Ahmed Al Faifi, Managing Director, SAP Saudi Arabia.
(Left to Right) Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP, and Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Director General, SAUDIA, sign an agreement to support the Kingdom’s small- and medium-sized enterprises.
About Saudi Arabian Airlines
Based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabian Airlines (www.saudiairlines.com) is the national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia founded in 1946, member in the SkyTeam Alliance and one of the largest carriers in the region operating close to 600 flights daily and transporting more than 25 million passengers (2014 figures). With a fleet of approximately 140 wide-bodied and highly advanced aircraft, it operates domestic and international flights to over 82 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 258,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com
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Media contacts
Husain Al Tamimi, SAP +971 56 6811641, husain.tamimi@sap.com
Claire McPeak, SAP, +971 4 330 1777, c.mcpeak@sap.com
Steve Baron, Wallis Marketing Consultants, +971 4390 1950, sap@wallis-mc.com
