TAQNIA by EasternDigitalMedia

TAQNIA Engineering & Technology Services Questions As the Arabic name taqnia suggests, TAQNIAETS is all about technology and specifically innovation and knowledge transfer in the technology sector. The Engineering & Technology Services (TaqniaETS) is a subsidiary of TAQNIA Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company, which in turn is 100% owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), a national fund that represents the investment arm of the Saudi government. Today Innovation & Insight Middle East is talking to Hassan Aljohani, Vice President of Business Development at Taqnia-ETS to find out more about the company’s activities and its hybrid public-private business model.

Although Taqnia-ETS is firmly in the public sector in terms of its funding and its involvement public policy initiatives and objectives, the way it operates and competes is similar to any private company. While state ownership means TaqniaETS’ mandates are defined by the Government – in fact it was created in response to the needs of certain national strategic priorities - it still has to abide by certain private sector characteristics such as its obligation to compete against other providers when bidding for projects, the way it runs its internal performance audits, reviews KPIs, creates its brand identity, develops new

products and meets obligations to be financially sustainable and profitable while fulfilling the objectives of its remit. The national priorities covered by this remit include contributing to diversifying the national economy, localizing innovative technology and transferring knowledge to support local development, developing and investing in local talent and maximizing spending efficiency. These aims are used as essential criteria when Taqnia-ETS evaluates business cases as part of the decisionmaking process around which projects to pursue. All this means that state ownership does not preclude growth or dampen the appetite for commercial, quite the opposite, as in this case it is the Government that has a stake and a keen interest in the company’s growth and success rather than individual owners and private-sector investors. Nevertheless, the company is a stateowned organization and as such is expected to participate in projects of national importance where confidentiality and sensitivity are key factors or/and where work has to be carried out in a way that aligns with national mandates. On

the flip side, TAQNIA-ETS – in common with other government-owned commercially viable companies - provides the government with insights into the opportunities and challenges arising from within the private sector which in turn supplies regulating bodies with valuable feedback that can be used to support efforts to accelerate economic growth and establish a strong local workforce through the empowerment of said private sector. In short, there are mutual benefits for a multitude of stakeholders: the company, the Government (through its investment, regulatory and beneficiary bodies), the private sector, and the general public. Although Taqnia-ETS began by offering an array of business and technology solutions, over time it has been able to refine its field of expertise and concentrate on developing and promoting geoservices, restructuring its business lines to reflect its strength and specialization in Geospatial Services, with IT services and Shared services taking a supporting role to allow Taqnia-ETS to continue to offer turnkey solutions - i.e. 69

comprehensive solutions requiring a multitude of complementary services to fulfil project objectives and outcomes, namely IT services along with shared services (training, supply chain, operations and maintenance). Having said that, IT and Shared services can still be made available as standalones if appropriate. Taqnia-ETS has been fully operational for seven years and has ambitious plans for its next decade including pursuing robust growth targets and capitalizing on its accumulated expertise and success. Over the next five years, Taqnia-ETS’ key objectives will broadly involve research and development focusing on merging geospatial services and AI technologies including investments in several products currently under development that are new to the market, some of them having already reached alpha or beta testing phases and scheduled to be released later this year. This programme of investment in new products highlights another of Taqnia-ETS’ strengths – its ability to work with partners in the world of cutting-edge technological research. Over the years, several such significant and valuable partnerships have been created. One of

the key partnerships is with King AbdulAziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Saudi Arabia’s prime R&D body and science hub. Through this partnership with KACST, TaqniaETS is able to collaborate with several of KACST’s scientific research centres such as The National Remote Sensing Institution, in identifying opportunities to commercialize discoveries and enhancements in the domain. New specialized geo-products being brought to market will increase efficiency and accuracy of execution and effectiveness of outputs for many businesses. The provision of geo-services is one of Taqnia-ETS’ core activities and the company is keen to raise awareness and acceptance of the importance of high-resolution geospatial data as an effective tool to support planning and decisionmaking processes in several fields, such as urban planning, environmental activities, infrastructure projects, agricultural development and natural resources management. The way Taqnia-ETS is championing the use of geo-services means that it is perfectly placed to contribute to KSA’s Vision 2030 and its Smart Cities initiative in particular. In the words of Mr Hassan Aljohani, “Geospatial

sciences and remote sensing technologies play a key part in the design and execution of Smart Cities; topography analysis, digital elevation models, asset distribution and management, change detection and analysis, mapping and surveying and 3D modelling are some of the services in which we excel, and with Saudi Arabia embarking on several projects in this domain, we have been engaged in discussions with relevant stakeholders exploring how we may support these endeavours.” At present Taqnia confines its activities to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but the company will also pursue opportunities for expansion into other markets in the MENA region, starting with those in the GCC within the next one or two years. To quote Mr Aljohani again, “Taqnia-ETS’ portfolio of public and private sector clients representing a multitude of industries are all based in KSA but the company is actively researching and engaging with various potential clients in MENA region markets This is because we believe that we have accumulated the knowhow, expertise, exposure and capacity to compete in markets beyond our own. Many of the projects we have executed were of national strategic significance and have delivered unique value and increased outcomes that are yet to be realized or introduced in regional markets, and we are keen to introduce ourselves and demonstrate what we can bring to the table.” Taqnia-ETS’ response to the COVID 19 pandemic is very heartening and says a lot about the company. The number one priority is and always has been the ETS family, and throughout that troubling year the community really showed its true colours in not only overcoming unprecedented circumstances to keep the lights on and fulfil the obligations of Taqnia-ETS’ projects, but also and more importantly in supporting each other socially and professionally. Early adoption of remote and WFH procedures along with fully digitized operations limited any disruption to the majority of Taqnia-ETS’ operations and from a business perspective the company has enjoyed continuous and consistent growth over the past years, with each year better

than the one before. Even though the pandemic had an impact both nationally and internationally at virtually every conceivable level, Taqnia-ETS not only emerged unscathed but demand for its services increased during the pandemic and last year’s results, despite the challenges, surpassed the majority of targets and expectations (conservative though they have been, under the circumstances). In some ways, Hassan Aljohani exemplifies the DNA of Taqnia-ETS, coming as he does from a long career in the public sector working for several governmental agencies. He became interested in geospatial sciences in general, and specifically in TAQNIA-ETS, as a result of his research into Emergency Management (EM), during which he explored the essential role of GIS in every phase of EM. He soon discovered how poor GIS data, tools and resources have dire consequences for the safety of people and property. Discovering that TAQNIA-ETS was an emerging company specializing in that very domain, he successfully applied to join the company and over the last six years with TAQNIA-ETS, he has worked in various business development roles, and currently holds the position of VP for Business Development. He enjoys the range of opportunities to engage with internal and external stakeholders plus the chance to follow developments in a scientific field that interests him. Add to that a great working environment, a team of fun, ambitious and capable young men and women, (in line with its ambition to train and grow local talent, the average age of Taqnia-ETS’ staff is around thirty and the gender mix is 33% female to 67% male), and well, to quote Mr Aljohani again, “You have a recipe for an environment that you wouldn’t want to change either.”