By ; Mahmoud El Dada 

International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that, by the start of 2021, the contribution of "digital coworkers" will have increased 35% year on year globally as more and more tasks are automated and augmented by technology. And by 2024, IDC predicts that enterprises with intelligent and collaborative work environments can expect to see 30% lower staff turnover, 30% higher productivity, and 30% higher revenue per employee than their peers.

"Work transformation is critical for effectively scaling digital transformation initiatives and will serve to drive improvements in business agility, worker productivity, and operational efficiency," says Hamza Naqshbandi, IDC's regional director for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. "Most importantly, it will drive greater engagement and innovation among all employees, enabling organizations to establish competitive differentiation in an increasingly dynamic business environment."

Image: Click here to view accompanying graphic of Saudi CIO priorities since outbreak of COVID-19

"Enterprises around the world entered 2020 with plans to continue investing in their digital transformation initiatives, only to be stopped short due to the ripple effects of COVID-19," continues Naqshbandi. "Business and IT priorities changed almost immediately. Meaningful collaboration to steer employees and business executives in these tough times is a critical priority as it not only supports remote working, but also enables effective, collaborative, and informed strategic business decisions. To enable such collaboration, there is a clear focus from CIOs in Saudi Arabia on providing both customers and employees with secure access to information, applications, and services."

Naqshbandi will explore these emerging priorities further as he presents the keynote at IDC's dedicated digital event for Saudi Arabia, 'Future of Connectedness: Collaborating in the New Reality'. Taking place on Wednesday, August 26, this exclusive webinar will showcase insights from collaboration pioneers, senior technology executives, and respected industry thought leaders as they provide expert guidance on implementing game-changing future-of-work, future-of-intelligence, customer experience, and digital innovation strategies.

The event will help decision makers from a broad range of industries effectively benchmark the current state of connectedness and collaboration within their own organizations. To this end, it will feature a series of informative presentations exploring a range of topics, including:

• The Future Enterprise: Priorities Driving Technology Decisions in Uncertain Times
• Fighting Cybercrime with Artificial Intelligence
• The Only Winning Move Is to Adopt Intelligent Security
  • Hype or Reality: Advanced Analytics and AI

Mazen Khalil, Arabian Oud's group general manager for IT and development, will present a session titled 'Developing an Action-Oriented Mindset to Drive Transformation', while the agenda will also include an interactive end-user panel discussion on the topic of 'Curbing OPEX Through Intelligent Automation & Agile DX'. Hosted by Jawad Khalil, IDC's principal analyst for Saudi Arabia, this session will showcase first-hand insights from:

• Damodaran Raman, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Bayan Payments
• Amin Jaber, CIO, Al Jomaih Automative Company
• Rami Awartani, Group IT Director, Abdullatif Alissa Group Holding Company
• Abbas Natto, Head of IT, AJIL Financial Services Company