Saudi Developers in Smartphone Applications

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Table of Contents

Summary of the proposed study
Purpose of the proposed study
Relevant background literature
Research Questions or Hypotheses
Research methodology
Significance of the study
Ethical considerations
Anticipated problems and limitations
References

Summary of the proposed study

Throughout the 90’s and early 2000, the PC was the most sought after gadget for personal and business use. While it is still early to declare it outdated, its getting a lot of competition from the introduction of the smart phones. The blackberries, iphones, androids and the now popular tablets have considerably reduced the significance of the PC. In fact, it is estimated that smart phone sales will eclipse desktop computer sales by 2012. Many more people will be conducting business and paying bills besides performing many other tasks using smart phones. Numerous companies in the world manufacture the apps used in smart phones. There are many companies in the world involved in the development of the apps available in the market today (Ezine Articles, (N.d). These companies exist to serve national as well as international clientele. Saudi Arabia has a number of these companies. Though the development of these apps in the country is not badly off, these companies have faced a few challenges and successes that this paper will seek to discuss and possibly come up with some recommendations.

Purpose of the proposed study

The purpose of this study will be to gain insights into the smartphone apps development industry in Saudi Arabia. The study will also aim at identifying trends, problems and successes of the industry so that they can act as the basis of continued strong growth.

Relevant background literature

According to Business Intelligence (2011), the UAE controls about 60% of all smart phone applications in the Middle East. It’s closely followed by Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Growth in Saudi Arabia has been phenomenal with more companies including the national telecom company entering the foray in producing smart phone apps. The latest smart devise in the Saudi market is the Sam Sang galaxy (A1Saudi Arabia, 2010). According to MENAFN Arab news (2010), the kingdom has a larger Smartphone market than Europe. Many companies like Sam Sang are also entering the Arabia market with new smart devices and subsidiaries that produce their apps. In January 2011, KSU became the first university in Saudi Arabia to launch a mart phone application. There are numerous companies in Saudi Arabia like MibileSOFT, Nafithtech that produce smart phone apps for different smart devices such as iphones, ipad, Blackberry and symbian windows mobile. The companies which have been in business for over 40 years are diversifying there operations due to what they refer to as the growing market for smart phone applications. Current estimates show that over 60% of Saudi internet users access the net using their mobile phones. Smart phones users make up a large chunk of these.

The RNCOS (2011) says that the number of these companies is growing signifying the potential that the country holds. According to Arabian Business (2011), the Middle East market is likely to grow by 39% by 2015. The above successes show the potential that Saudi Arabia has in the smart phone app development.

There are however some challenges that these developers have faced. Lack of government support or unfriendly business decisions from the authorities threatens to impact negatively on the Smartphone apps development. According to the Daily Mail (2010), the UAE and Saudi Governments threatened to ban the use of e-mail, web access and instant message applications on Blackberry. The then intended action was because of unspecified security concerns. The Brighthub (2010), reported that the fears were as a result of terror concerns expressed by US. Though the ban did not take effect, the over one million users of blackberry and the companies that develop their apps were temporarily put off balance, something not good for business. According to Mobile Phone Industry Today (2011), there are suggestions that Smartphone companies should allow authorities to have access to five year calling records of smart phone users. Additionally, E-zine articles (n.d) say that the authorities may be considering DIU devises in smart devices. Any negative impact on the sale or use of smart phones is likely to have a ripple effect on developers hence presenting a significant challenge to the industry in Saudi Arabia.

Research Questions or Hypotheses

The study will be seeking to answer the following questions:

What are the successes that the industry has experienced?
How can they build on the successes to ensure steady growth of the industry?
What are the challenges the smart phone application makers face in the Saudi Market
Are the challenges industry related or they are external?
What is the role of the government and private sector in the growth of the industry?

Research methodology

The study will use information collected from a sample. The researchers will put together a sample representative of the target population in Saudi Arabia. The sample will be chosen randomly to eliminate the chances of bias. The data collected from the sample will be analyzed and the results will be generalized on the population.

Significance of the study

The findings of the study will be used by both government and other stakeholders in the smartphone application developers in the country to understand what ails the industry and how it can be improved. I will also be use to provide important statistics of the current Saudi market in terms of sectors control by different companies, government participation and the dominant trends as far as the use of smart phone apps is concerned.

Ethical considerations

The research will be carried out in Saudi Arabia. All respondents will participate on voluntary basis. The participants will not be coerced to reveal their identity nor will they be under obligation to complete the study. The participants will be informed of all their rights before the study begins and none will be forced to answer any question that he /she feels not comfortable with. The participants will be assured of a risk free research study. They will not be exposed in any way to risky content or situations.

Anticipated problems and limitations

Some of the anticipated problems include language barrier. Though many Saudis are educated, a good number of those that own smart devices and who will be eligible for the study may not be able to speak English.

Also, given that many of the participants will be scattered around the country, there will be some difficulty in accessing them and that will also escalate transport costs.

References

Arabian Business. (2011) Mideast Smartphone market to grow by 39% by 2015. Web.

A1 Saudi Arabia. (2010) Samsung Smartphone hits Saudi market A1SaudiArabia.com. Web.

Business Intelligence. (2011) UAE controls 60 % of mobile apps development in Middle East, tops list of Arab countries. Web.

Brighthub. (2010) BlackBerry Ban and Secrecy Issues. Web.

Daily Mail. (2010) UAE and Saudi Arabia to ban Blackberry users from sending messages. Web.

Ezine Articles. (N.d) DUI Checkpoint Challenges Ahead – Smart Phone Apps and Fewer Arrests. Web.

MENAFN – Arab News. (2010) Saudi Arabia’s smart-phone market larger than Europe’s. Web.

Mobile Phone Industry Today. (2011) Saudi Arabia Smartphone News. Web.

RNCOS. (2011) Saudi Arabia ICT Market Forecast 2014. Web.

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