The Power of Physical/Digital Convergence and Vision 2030

I am always amazed to read about innovation and some kid in a garage working on the next Unicorn idea. AI, Robotic, FINTECH and electric vehicles seem to be attracting “easy money” and valuations which defy conventional financial sense – revenue multiples of decades driven by hyper-scaling ambitions and expectations. STOP: Wirecard, WeWork, FTX and raising interest rates paint a different picture and traditional business models make a surprise return. Tesla valuation fell below Exxon.



*Source: Tesla share slide sends valuation below ExxonMobil

COVID and the more recent geopolitical developments and crisis first drove a further acceleration in the “next big thing” of home delivery (retail), chipset demand and others – all coming to a rude awakening. NVIDIA -40% Quarter on Quarter, delivery services running out of cash, FTX bankruptcy. On a cooler note – how many versions of social media video apps, of ride hailing companies, booking sites, or e-retailer apps have a place in the market?

On the other hand, even in large telcos, infrastructure and construction companies, the last decades seem not to have changed much in the way they build their infrastructure. “Smart Building” consultants still build isolated subsystems for CCTV, access control, fire alarm. Telcos and utility providers still build their infrastructure along the same process, survey – design – build – update drawings – operate, the same as they did 20 years ago with the main difference that paper was replaced by tablets/ Android devices and workflows are automated.

Changing this status quo requires extensive experience in both the physical and digital fields – it is easy for a graduate to come up with a new social media, e-commerce or NFT idea but developing a truly integrated digital, physical experience requires a “spark” with cable guys, data scientists, operations experts clashing together.

Why is this relevant for Saudi Arabia? Under the Vision2030 laid out by HRH Crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has an unprecedented drive to build a non-oil economy and build a thriving society with fulfilling life for its citizens. NEOM, Qiddiyah, The Red Sea Development and other initiatives have established a construction program focusing on smart infrastructure, carbon neutrality and innovation unseen anytime or anywhere before today, there is no better showcase for innovation than any of these projects, of which we at DETASAD are proud partners, combining our unique experience both in the physical and digital domains.

DETASAD is an example of the power of physical and digital convergence. With a 42-year history as a leading infrastructure solution provider to the Kingdom, our digital revenues for cloud, data center, satellite – from around 10% of total in 2017 have until 2021 increased by more than 700%. This growth is innovation driven with patent filings related to AI based Smart Capacity Management, to Data Sovereignty/ Privacy Management and upcoming AI powered IoT and infrastructure lifecycle systems replacing the traditional utility build and operation workflows by AI powered, augmented paradigm shifters.

All our solutions and innovations are built on the unique position and deep understanding of physical infrastructure challenges across the full life cycle, deep digital technology expertise and the NCA certified cybersecurity credentials – we are proud to claim top rank in NCA score under all cloud providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as of now. These technologies and our experience allow us to build not only a #Made-In-Saudi technology champion, but also helping us grow our business as a technology export champion and bringing us another step closer to our vision of being a key contributor to #Vision2030. We have all the ingredients: the required experience, the exponential power of existing technologies, deep knowhow in physical and digital worlds, a unique Vision2030 driven environment with a dedicated Saudi and expat workforce – #DETASAD, a Saudi Unicorn in the making?

Keep following us and looking forward to seeing you at #Leap2023, exploring opportunities with you. If you want to reduce your IT Service Costs or ICT/ Smart infrastructure life cycle costs from design to operation by 20% under the most stringent SLAs, challenge us. If you are excited by the power of the possible when physical meets digital and are willing to fight hard – reach out: Saudi or Expat, male or female talent in technology and non-technology fields.

Felix Thomas Wass
President & CEO of DETASAD