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Consumers of innovation to producers of innovation
To gain insights into the trends surrounding private- and public-sector organisations ’ perceptions and initiatives related to AI , AWS and IDC conducted an AI-focused survey in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates , involving 166 organisations across various industries , including hospitality and accommodation , financial services , government , media , entertainment , gaming , and retail and wholesale .
This study primarily focuses on the UAE and Saudi Arabia and it serves as a valuable proxy for other technologydriven countries in the region .
Governments in the Middle East in collaboration with universities , technology providers , and the private sector , have taken proactive steps to build national AI competencies among citizens , the public sector , and industries . 70 % of organisations in Saudi Arabia specifically highlight the importance of skills development initiatives to bridge the talent gap .
It is important for regional authorities to encourage global cloud providers to offer AI platform and infrastructure services via local public cloud data centres . Without cloud-based GPU and CPU compute resources , as well as data and AI platforms , AI innovation is impossible . Some countries , such as the UAE , Saudi Arabia , and Qatar , have made significant progress in this area by facilitating the development and launch of commercial public cloud data centres , with more initiatives on the horizon across the region .
Investments across the AI value chain in the Middle East are strategic and comprehensive , targeting critical areas such as employee enablement , AI model and solution security , AI- enabled tools and applications , advanced analytics , AI at the edge , and data architecture modernisation . Recognising that AI
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