RIYADH: Saudi organizations are demonstrating they are not risk averse in adopting tech at the cutting edge, and in some cases are moving farther and faster than their peers, according to a report by KPMG. The findings – based on surveys of more than 2,200 executives around the world, including 51 in the Kingdom – show that almost 66 percent of Saudi-based respondents believe their organizations are either extremely or very effective at using tech to advance their business strategies. This marks the highest confidence level in this research series, supported by a high return on investment and indicating that effective digital transformation is less of a differentiator than in previous years. Titled “Tech Survey Saudi Arabia 2022,” the report was launched during LEAP 2023, the annual tech convention being held in Riyadh. “Our latest global tech report finds a resilient, forward-looking attitude among technology professionals in the Kingdom and their peers globally,” commented Robert Ptaszynski, head of digital and innovation at KPMG in Saudi Arabia. Some 18 percent of the respondents have extremely effective transformation programs that have generated at least an 11 percent uplift in profit or company performance. The survey also showed that 80 percent of organizations in the Kingdom are at an advanced stage of their digital transformation strategies, with the leadership support and funding required to drive their program forward. Although 41 percent admit that progress is slower than expected, in general, digital transformation programs have put Saudi organizations in the Kingdom in an advantageous position to embrace new technologies. Moreover, the expected timeframe for most Saudi organizations to invest in quantum computing is two years, with 70 percent of businesses suggesting they have advanced in their adoption of data and analytics systems. Almost 53 percent of executives in Saudi Arabia find security and compliance requirements to be the top challenge their organization faces in their cloud journey. In comparison, 63 percent of organizations plan to increase investment in application security, which is 20 percent more than the global average. Cybersecurity teams are under pressure to keep up with evolving threats, with cultural obstacles and limited funding getting in the way of security efforts. Nonetheless, most Saudi organizations are confident of their ability to prevent or mitigate security risks.