Governing the Digital Shift: Scaling e-Services in the Public Sector -MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East

MIT SMR Connections

Governing the Digital Shift: Scaling e-Services in the Public Sector
29th October, Riyadh KSA

Digital government initiatives in Saudi Arabia are moving rapidly from pilot programs to large-scale deployment. Leaders now face the challenge of delivering citizen-centric digital services that are scalable, inclusive, and aligned with Vision 2030, while managing legacy systems, regulatory requirements, and interdepartmental complexity.

This roundtable brings together senior public sector and industry leaders to examine how governments can accelerate modernization, foster cross-sector collaboration, and ensure digital services deliver measurable impact. Participants will explore practical strategies for scaling services, enhancing citizen trust, and future-proofing governance in an era of cloud, AI, and emerging digital identities.

This edition of MIT SMR Connections, in partnership with Xebia and Google Cloud, will also explore Xebia’s e-Services Accelerator, a low-code cloud-native framework designed to support faster deployment and flexible, citizen-centric digital services.

Briefing Points

Scaling Services Without Losing Local Relevance: Expanding e-Services across ministries and regions while maintaining quality, relevance, and responsiveness to local needs.

Balancing Agility with Oversight: Enabling rapid experimentation and deployment without compromising compliance, security, or citizen trust.

Integrating Fragmented Systems for Seamless Delivery: Bridging legacy infrastructure and departmental silos to create interdepartmental collaboration and data-driven decision-making.

Measuring Impact Beyond Efficiency: Assessing digital initiatives through frameworks that capture value creation, citizen satisfaction, and long-term strategic outcomes rather than operational outputs alone.