RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will very soon be ranked on a global scale rather than a regional one in terms of technological advancement, Lenovo’s general manager for the Middle East and Africa told Arab News. Alaa Bawab said that the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision shows a great emphasis on digitization and utilizing technology. Speaking at an interview at LEAP, he cited the event as an example of Saudi Arabia’s move to higher participation in technological initiatives. “I think they (the Saudi government) are very clear on their vision when it comes to technology, when it comes to deploying technology to deliver smarter cities, smarter governmental services, smarter healthcare services, and smarter educational services to the entire community of the Kingdom,” Bawab pointed out. He added that Lenovo is in discussions with big corporates in the Kingdom to bring new products and services into the Saudi market, and to take part in the digitization that’s undergoing in different sectors in Saudi Arabia. Bawab echoed the widespread statements that data will be the most valuable resource going forward, especially with a lot discussion centering on artificial intelligence and big data. However, there were some worries that AI poses threats to different jobs. Bawab responded by saying that all professions will benefit from these new technologies as. With a more appropriate analysis of data, workers will be able to be efficient in providing their services. A particular example he used was on teachers, who benefitted from the widespread use of technologies. “With the capability of remote connectivity and the value that (was) brought to the education sector... (it) helped teachers to deliver their education in a seamless manner, to be able to utilize different tools to be able to analyze the behavior, the educational capabilities, the strength of their students to be able to focus on specific areas,” Bawab explained. Another instance where modern technology came in handy was the healthcare sector following the pandemic. He stressed on the importance of the Middle East’s tech infrastructure, which allowed remote healthcare services to be delivered. “Every industry today is a true beneficiary entity or beneficiary corporate from the new technologies that are available, from the new way of deploying those technologies to really get the full efficiency to support those businesses.”