Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 19 February 2019: An IDC survey commissioned by Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) found security and data leaks to be a key concern in adopting intelligent workplace strategies. The survey results were presented at an event at the Riyadh Four Seasons.  

 

With face-to-face input from over 100 CIOs in KSA, the survey’s corresponding white paper examines the evolution of the intelligent workspace and IDC's 'Future of Work' concept. It further highlights the role of intelligent workplace technologies in Saudi Arabia, and covers their drivers, benefits, security implications, and challenges.

 

With a key concern being security, the survey also found that over 60 percent of CIOs said their company had already adopted a virtual desktop environment, highlighting the critical need for Saudi organizations to rapidly implement secure solutions workers in the Kingdom and security guidelines.  

 

While 79 percent of the organizations interviewed indicated that they monitor and analyze access and authentication behavior, only 48 percent had deployed solutions to detect and analyze threats based on user behavior, and 29 percent had adopted machine learning and AI-based solutions to understand user behavior.

 

“The intelligent workplace aims to provide a seamless experience. Our results reveal that organizations in Saudi Arabia need to support a borderless operational environment that is secure and easy to access. By building out effective intelligent workplace strategies, organizations in the Kingdom will be able to reduce their operational expenses, deliver superior experiences, enhance productivity and even increase their revenues,” said Megha Kumar, Research Director, Software & Cloud at IDC. 

 

With one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world, Saudi’s widespread local access to mobile devices has compelled organizations in the country to pursue omni-channel engagements with employees, customers, and partners, and develop systems that can be accessed anywhere at any time. Moreover, emerging technologies — such as automation solutions and AI — will be instrumental in creating the Saudi organization of the future, as they will lead to shifts in organizational culture, the employee mix, and the workplace itself.

 

To realize a successful intelligent workspace transformation, Citrix recommends the following:

 

• Incorporate organizational vision with respect to the culture and types of employees to help identify the types of technologies that will be critical to the success of the strategy

• Incorporate the participation of the business units to make change management less cumbersome

• Leverage cloud effectively to lower the pressure on existing infrastructure and application workloads

• Think about user experience to ensure that newly introduced technologies deliver the right end-user experience and achieve the desired outcomes 

 

“Work is no longer a place – it’s a dynamic activity that people expect to be as adaptable as they are,” said Taj El-Khayat, Regional Director MENA at Citrix. “With intelligent workspaces, people and organizations can unlock innovation, engage customers, and be productive – anytime, anywhere. Citrix is here to help Saudi organizations build the workplace of the future so organizations can operationalize the technology they need to drive business forward.”