Technology & IT | Tuesday 6 August, 2019 4:12 am |

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology together with Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT), have announced the winners of the first open-development digital transformation competition in Saudi Arabia, inspired in support of the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Digital Transformation Innovation Contest saw upwards of 80 entries from more than 80 teams. The competition was open to employees of local telecommunications operators; students from universities such as King Saud University, Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University, and Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University; as well as employees of local Huawei partners, including Seder Group, SNS, and MeaTech.

Winners have been chosen across defined categories based on the role they will play in helping the Kingdom to benefit from a more connected, intelligent society. During the contest, the top 8 most innovative apps from telecommunications operators and the top four apps from universities were also showcased.

Faris AlSaqabi, General Manager for Knowledge and Digital Content at MCIT, said: “Digital transformation will form the cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s progression into becoming a country driven by smart technology in line with Saudi Vision 2030. A key component of this transition will be organizations enhancing their existing operations to better employ the benefits of intelligent solutions, which is what we aimed to encourage through this competition. The Ministry is always supportive to such initiatives that will promote the communication sector”

Spacelee Xiangyu, Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications, Huawei Middle East, said: “Automation and intelligence are proven drivers of operational transformation, and the entries into the inaugural Digital Transformation Innovation Contest harnessed the potential of smart technology to address a key component of Saudi Arabia’s national transformation agenda. We were very impressed with the submissions received and offer our congratulations to the winners and entrants for pioneering new ways to progress our connected society. A program which encompass many of Huawei’s educational initiatives to promote the development of valuable skills in Saudi universities students. At Huawei, we are committed to establishing a mature and comprehensive digital ecosystem in the Kingdom to support the government objectives set out in the National Transformation Program 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030.”


The contest themes—including automation and intelligence (AUTIN), digital platform operation web services (OWS), and the development of talent in the digital field—have been recognized as essential to facilitating operational transformation in the public and private sectors. Solutions entered into the content are thus helping to establish an open ecosystem in which telecom operators, ICT vendors, and local partners can boost industrial digitization in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

To this end, Huawei has recently introduced a number of innovative technologies in the Kingdom, including its new AUTIN solution. The solution combines automation and intelligence tools—based on big data and AI technologies—to help organizations uncover deeper analysis of their operations, increase their digital network efficiency and quality, and reduce interruptions to their operations.


Winners within the Telecom division of the competition include:
• Shine by Sultan O. Alsufyani, STC - Best Digital Developer of the Year
• Intelligent Roaming & Intercon Mgmt by Bilel Faidi and Faisal Theyab Alqahtani, Zain - Digital Innovation Excellence
• Digital VVIP Assistant by Hamze A. Waridan, STC - Efficiency Development Excellence
• Digital Request Management by Abdullah Alshamari and Saud Aljaber, Zain - Quality Development Excellence
• ConFire by Omar A. Mudhhi and Salman I. Alhamoudi, STC - Outstanding Quality Explorer
• Enterprise Self_Service Portal by Abdallah. Albargan, STC - Outstanding Efficiency Explorer
• Multi-vendor Aalarm Surveillance by Fahad Abdullah, Mobily - Outstanding Digital Innovation Explorer
• EOS Watcher by Adeeb Edrees, Mobily - Outstanding Digital Innovation Explorer


Four additional winners were announced in the university division, they were:
• Badeel by Maha Nasser Albarrak, KSU - Developer Future Star
• Knowledge Bank by Maisoun A. Alshahrai and Ghada Alsubaie, PNU - Excellent Developer Talent
• Volunteering by Taghreed Mohammed AL-Hussan and Sarah Mohammed Almunif, KSU - Excellent Developer Talent
• MyMedicine by Fai Alfrdos, PNU - Excellent Developer Talent