Modern information technology alone cannot drive the country towards digital transformation but a model comprising youth with technology will continue to play a pivotal role in Oman's corporate arena and companies' ability to do so.
It's no wonder that technologies like cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, 5G and analytics are critical to ensuring effective digital transformation strategies. However, the youth are pivotal to achieving Oman’s ambitions to become a competitive, innovative, and sustainable economy and meet its Vision 2040 goals, according to Microsoft.
Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the Comex 2022, Saif bin Hilal al Hosni (pictured), Microsoft Regional Director for Oman and Bahrain, said that youth skills coupled with hybrid cloud, in particular, is one of the most important technologies in driving digitisation as it enables customers to reduce costs and increase revenues.
"The Sultanate of Oman has attached great importance to building the youth’s skills to prepare them for the digital future and the youth force complemented by modern technology can drive the digital transformation drive of Oman. This is more so in meeting business imperatives such as regulatory and data sovereignty requirements, taking advantage of on-premises technology investment, or addressing low latency issues," Saif bin Hilal al Hosni said.
The pandemic has, according to him, shown us that being able to adapt and prepare for the unexpected is now more important than ever. He lauded Oman’s government which has prioritised digital transformation as a key enabler of its goals to transform the Sultanate of Oman into a competitive, sustainable economy that is productive and diverse as laid out in its Vision 2040 strategy. Recently, the Omani capital, “Muscat”, was selected to be the Arab Digital Capital for 2022.
"The Omani government has prioritised security in the country as digital transformation cannot take place without security transformation. The Information Security Division was established under the MTCIT to set regulations and policy related to cybersecurity."
Microsoft has signed several memoranda of understanding with the Omani Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MoTCIT), Omantel, Phaze Ventures and PhazeRo during the Comex AI Conference which was held from May 24 to 25.
"We have partnered with a number of organisations, including the Oman Technology Institute (OTI) and the National Youth Commission, to upskill and enhance the capabilities of young people in emerging technologies like cloud and AI, as well as collaborating with the Oman Information Technology Society to launch the “MaharaTec” initiative, all of which would enable the youth of Oman to actively take part in the digital revolution and grab hold of the future with their own hands," Al Hosni added.
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