Why managed services are key to realising Vision 2030

As Saudi Arabia continues to advance and transform its economy, managed services are increasingly becoming a key model of partnership between organisations and expert providers, writes Abdullah Tamer, Partner and Leader of PwC’s Managed Services business in the Middle East.

With its Vision 2030 programme now past the halfway mark, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has successfully diversified its economy – from a heavy reliance on oil and gas to being more sustainable and technologically-advanced. From trillion-dollar giga-projects and accelerated digital transformation to increased female workforce participation, regulatory reforms and sustained growth in non-oil GDP, the progress is both transformative and far-reaching.

Regional findings of PwC’s recently published CEO Survey have revealed that Saudi Arabia stands as the top investment destination for other regional CEOs outside their own territories.

Success in sectors including sports and culture mean Saudi Arabia is also now preparing to host a series of major international events, most notably the 2029 Asian Winter Games, Expo 2030 as well as the recently announced 2034 FIFA World Cup.

To deliver these mega-events and realise the Kingdom’s national transformation programme within the responsible spending parameters, organisations in Saudi Arabia have new demands for integrated, scalable solutions from managed services providers.

More than advisory

At PwC, we’re increasingly seeing that clients in Saudi Arabia need more than conventional advisory services; they require a strategic partner to help manage their daily operations and leverage the latest technology to streamline tasks and deliver efficiencies. Technology alone isn’t enough – it must be implemented with the right operational frameworks, talent, and expertise to be effective.

In response, we continue to expand our regional delivery centres across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt. The importance of managed services is growing globally, with the global run & operate market projected to reach $591 billion by 2027. 

Managed services are evolving

In the region, we see an urgency in adopting managed services, as businesses across the Kingdom continuously try to reinvent themselves and enhance their capabilities in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

Findings from PwC’s CEO Survey indicate that 66% of business leaders in Saudi Arabia believe they will need to adapt their businesses in 10 years or less to remain viable. In fact, an impressive 81% of business leaders in Saudi Arabia have indicated they have adopted Generative AI in the past 12 months, aligning with global trends. This has yielded tangible results, with two-thirds of CEOs in the country reporting that GenAI has boosted profitability within their organisations over the past 12 months.

Against this backdrop, business leaders are keen to work with managed service partners in the region to access insights on emerging technologies in order to integrate them into their business models – thereby gaining a strategic advantage and even closing capability gaps.

This contradicts the increasingly outdated view of managed services or outsourcing as simply a means of shifting repetitive back-office tasks to providers in lower-cost countries. In Saudi Arabia, managed services carried out as partnerships and strategic alliances are already playing a crucial role, offering organisations deep industry and technological expertise when they need it most.

Delivering sustained outcomes

Building a strategic set of managed services partnerships enables organisations to access both talent and technology, aiming not only to reduce costs but to become faster and more innovative. At PwC, our managed services teams work with leading technology providers, including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google Cloud, to support our clients in delivering their most complex and critical functions and processes.

As Saudi Arabia continues its journey towards Vision 2030, organisations that incorporate managed services into their strategic toolkit will be better positioned to drive innovation, efficiency, and transformation.