The government sector in Saudi Arabia is projected to spend over $752 million on IT by 2024 as innovative technologies become essential for an "experience economy." The comments were made during the ICT Indicators Forum in Riyadh on April 24.

In Saudi Arabia, IT spending on AI, big data analytics, IoT, and cybersecurity is projected to grow significantly, making up nearly one-third of total IT spending in 2024.

AI spending is expected to reach $1.9 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 40 percent, with half of that amount going towards interpretative AI.

The country has also become a hub for cloud technology, with public cloud spending forecasted to exceed $2.4 billion in 2024 and $4.7 billion by 2027.

Software-as-a-Service will account for over 50 percent of the 2024 spending.

Additionally, cybersecurity spending is predicted to surpass $1 billion in 2024 and reach $1.6 billion by 2027.

Salman Faqeeh, CEO of Cisco Saudi Arabia, spoke at a forum about the growth of the cybersecurity industry in their region.

He mentioned that a few years ago, the market was estimated to be around $500 million.

However, today it has more than doubled and is now worth approximately $1 billion.

Faqeeh also noted that the cybersecurity industry is currently the fastest growing market in the region.