GCC countries, mainly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, recovered rapidly from the resurrection of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to many countries around the world. Yet, businesses are still facing some struggles, especially with the upcoming geopolitical conflicts, that are affecting not only the trade but also the inflation rates.
One of the most important factors in helping businesses survive COVID-19 was making the switch to technological solutions. In addition, a poll by the IT service provider Endava found that 87 percent of respondents had to act swiftly to speed up digital deployments, and that 98 percent of respondents acknowledged there had been space for improvement in their level of preparedness.
Global figures
Endava’s research focused on how businesses worldwide use lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to shape their approach to ongoing digital adoption. Endava’s study encompassed senior business leaders and IT decision-makers from the US, UK, Germany, Nordics, Australia, and Singapore, representing various industries.
Eighty-four percent of businesses declared that by quickly adapting to new technologies, they were able to speed up certain aspects of their digital adoption by as much as 10 years.
At the same time, 92 percent said they had increased the budget for digital adoption, and 88 percent are implementing improvement programs to respond to vulnerabilities.
In addition, 95 percent are planning to increase their investment in learning the digital skillset. Respondents also detailed the best way to implement these enhancements, prioritizing speed of implementation by a factor of 70 percent and allowing for 30 percent of time for long-term planning. As opposed to the more laborious and time-consuming process of digital transformation, which can be difficult to correct after it has begun, this emphasis is more in line with the more nimble and rapid process of digital acceleration.
Furthermore, Endava’s findings demonstrated that businesses are thinking ahead, deliberating which cutting-edge technology to integrate with their current offerings. Optimization for the cloud, unsurprisingly, scored quite highly, as did artificial intelligence. It was also noted that many people were interested in hearing more about novel ideas like the metaverse.
Challenges
“Most GCC companies acknowledge the necessity of going digital; however, the progress in terms of agile transformation, particularly for larger businesses, has remained limited at best,” says Nick Curran, Business Development Manager at Endava.
In an interview with TRENDS, he added, “We’re also seeing a significant challenge for our customers around attracting, retaining, and developing top technology and product talent at the scale they need to keep up with their growth ambitions.”
Curran stated that to fix the challenges of digital transitions in the GCC, it’s crucial to identify the right ways of working model to bridge the gap. This model should be based on an Agile delivery method, reliable data and analytics skills, a strong alignment between product and technology functions, and the ability to scale Agile engineering capacity along with priorities.
“Buy Now Pay Later”
In this context, and to support organizations on their journey to digital acceleration and maximizing their digital capabilities for market adaptation, Endava released the “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) Project.
Research and Markets 2021 research on the global “buy now pay later” market projects a CAGR of 22.4 percent between 2021 and 2028, with annual BNPL expenditures averaging over US$ 20 billion. This amounts to a sizable chunk of money for stores, which is good news for the retail industry.
There has been a notable increase in the quantity of BNPL solution providers in the Middle East. Over ten well-funded BNPL players operate in the Middle East, including ValU, Tabby, Tamara, and Post Pay.
As a service lacking in the GCC market, BNPL has been well received by customers who appreciate the option to pay for things in installments and the enticement of interest-free credit. However, the absence of a regulatory framework throughout this period of rapid expansion has contributed to the market’s lack of homogeneity, in Curran’s opinion.
Some of the dangers of this type of credit are the same as those associated with others, such as the lack of complete affordability checks that can lead to users accumulating debts from various sources. The BNPL industry is responsible for effectively handling this and other problems by offering a long-term, open solution.