Problem description
As much as the rate at which the use of internet is growing rapidly in Saudi Arabia (SA), availability of internet services that can be relied on by citizens is still very low. In most cases, the online services available do not coincide with the services available in the world.
This makes it difficult for both public and private organizations, businesses and citizens in Saudi Arabia to use the virtual space to overcome problems like delivering services, selling products and competing with other more progressive international companies/organizations that carries most of its activities online (Al-Ghaith, Sanzogni & Sandhu, 2010). Since the transport system in Saudi
Arabia is poor, it can be sometimes inconvenient for females to leave their houses since the culture restricts them from driving. Lack of reliable online services has a negative impact especially on government departments where most of the work is done manually (on paper) leading to cumulative work and time wastage. The longer queues for services are cumbersome for customers and contribute to time wasting.
The unreliability of most online services available in SA creates a lot of problems for the users of online services. “Among such problems include lack of conditionality, security as well as credibility of information delivered online” (Aladwani, 2003, p.18). Most of the resources for online service development have been invested in high rank governmental organs, educational systems and banking services with little attention to other economic segments like e-customer services, attorney services and health care services.
In other words, most of the developed online services available only offer high quality services for high rank governmental departments unlike other economic segments which offer services directly to the common citizens. This situation has created a large gap in terms of adoption and availability of internet services available in SA and those in other countries thus calling for need to make advancements in some areas.
According to research studies carried out, it was evident that the existing problems in the area of online services are related to accessibility, reliability, security and confidentiality (Al-Ghaith, Sanzogni & Sandhu, 2010). In the research, researchers identified major problems of internet services in Saudi Arabia.
The main problem identified was adoption of internet services. It was found that the rate at which the internet services are adopted in the region is lower compared to other competitive regions of the world.
It was also identified that the main reason for low rate of adoption of internet services was due to the growing gap between the increasing number of internet users and the development of systems of security for online databases. Aladwani (2003) also found out that such challenges are being faced by the country since its current purchasing power largely relies on availability, reliability/quality and accessibility of online services.
Some of the factors identified to be major negative contributors to improvement of this situation include specific cultural beliefs and some religious ideologies in the region.
Moreover, research studies carried out indicates that improper analysis of language, traditions, history as well as values established in the country makes it difficult for reformers to define, analyze and suggest measures that can be implemented to realize an improvement and reach greater accessibility and security levels in the use of internet services.
Saudi Arabia has also been found to be short of resources that can enable it create well secured and reliable online services and systems which guarantees great potential and options for internet users.
According to the above findings, it is upon the government to put in place measures that will address the factors that contribute to unreliability of the internet services available in the country to enable it attain high competitive levels like other countries that rely on online services (Al-Somali, Gholami & Clegg, 2009).
Motivation
One of the motivations for the research devoted to the online services in SA is the benefit to the life of women in the country. It is considered that online services in Saudi Arabia are vital since they may act as a basis for changes to make the life of women in the country easier. Due to restricted rights for women where they can only be allowed to do certain things while accompanied by men, most of them are advocating for online services that will enable them enjoy their services out of their own consent.
It is evident that Saudi Arabian women suffer from having to deal with lack of organization that government offices have. In order to do something, people have to physically attend the place, office and shop without forgetting about mentioning the lack of convenience due to the fact that every woman needs a male guardian to accompany her and consent everything before she does it.
With research on online services, solutions are likely to be found to enable women in the country to enjoy the services without necessarily moving away from their houses or seeking men’s consent and this is likely to lead to the change that most of them are advocating for. “Moreover, the transportation issues are the most important in Saudi Arabia” (Dwivedi & Weerakkody, 2007, p.47).
Women cannot drive and the poor public transportation system that we have in Saudi Arabia makes it problematic for many women to reach their place of destination.
Another motivation for research devoted to online services in SA is due to the increasing number of internet users in the past ten years. According to research, it has been found that the rate at which people are willing to use the internet has been increasing drastically in the past ten years. However, the problem has been on the reliability of the internet services available. Poor traditions, beliefs, taboos and other cultural attachments have contributed negatively to the aims of these people.
I am motivated to address the needs of the increasing number of internet users by exploring such problems like adoption, security, availability, reliability and accessibility of internet services. The usefulness of considering the opportunities women would have if they worked at home via the Internet or used other services helpful in household is also a great motivation for the research (Aladwani, 2003).
As the following table and chart indicates, there has been a drastic growth in percentage of the users of internet services for the past ten years in Saudi Arabia.
Summary of the research
The research investigates the kind of online services that are being provided in south Arabia and identifies the ones that are in great demand. The paper also explores the internet services that are available worldwide and compares them with the ones that are already in use by Saudi Arabians.
There is exploration on the kind of services that can be adopted by the country to help in various organizational sectors as well as increase the competitiveness of the country’s private and public sectors. In other words, the research deeply explores the need for online services in SA basing on the main problem at hand.
Using a mixed methodology (quantitative and qualitative), the study reviews what the government sites offer ,what online services Saudi Arabia already has and what the world offers in the relation to the Internet resources. The questionnaire part of the research is aimed at collecting both quantitative and qualitative data devoted to the demanded services in the country conducted in the form of the interview of one hundred Saudi Arabian citizens.
The investigations of how Saudi Arabian citizens are in need of online services also forms part of the research for comparison and contrast analysis to find out which of these services can be easily done and which of them are challenging and inconvenient to be done in the country.
In the research, such aspects like analysis of existing online services, assessment of e-government and online banking infrastructures in Saudi Arabia have been examined to relate them to the global trends of Internet usage. The research also provides a number of gaps to be fulfilled in online systems in terms of accessibility, quality/reliability and credibility of information delivered (Dwivedi & Weerakkody, 2007).
Results
The qualitative results for the literature review on what the government sites offer, online services available in Saudi Arabia and what the world offers in the relation to the Internet resources are as follows:
The government of Saudi Arabia has various online services. Each ministry in the country already has a website. The only problem is that these websites are incapable of offering complete services to individuals. Although the websites provide light information about various things in the ministries, physical presence is still needed thus making citizens to create more demands.
Some universities in the country like Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University are found to offer backboard and banner services which happen to be offered in other universities in Saudi Arabia. Although such services are useful, it is so unfortunate that every single school or university has to offer them.
This situation is attributed to the fact that the online services available can not support such services in a centralized manner and at the same time makes them accessible to all schools and universities online. The Government websites found are as follows: www.saudi.gov.sa, www.mohe.gov.sa, www.moh.gov.sa, www.commerce.gov.sa, www.customs.gov.sa and www.cpa.org.sa (Abanumy, Al-Badi & Mayhew, 2005).
The literature review also indicated that most of electronic services in Saudi Arabia are mostly offered by governmental and banking infrastructures as presented by Saudi Arabian Agencies and other arms of the government. All these websites are secured enough to provide valid information.
Other countries such as Australia, USA and UK offers online services like renewal of passports, ID’s, driving licenses, e-marketing, e-health care services, legal considerations and e-commerce.
The results for the survey conducted are as follows:
According to the interviews conducted with one hundred citizens from the country, 82% (82 participants) demanded that the government should invest more on online services that are of general importance to all citizens.
Among the services advocated for include E-customs services, healthcare services and renewal of passports/national ID’s. They also demanded for websites with customer reviews on restaurants, shops and such things which protect consumers (Dwivedi & Weerakkody, 2007).
The participants argued that such important services have been given little consideration unlike other countries. They also complained that not enough attention is paid to the problems of security, confidentiality and accessibility for commercial activities performed online.
The remaining 12% of the participants picked at random did not disclose any relevant information concerning highly demanded online services in the country. It seems like most of them had no idea on the topic and indicated elevated levels of ignorance about the matter.
Conclusion
Due to increased demand for internet services worldwide and globalization which has enabled many activities to be carried out online, a significant focus should be put on creating e-commerce infrastructures regulated by e-commerce legislature, websites offering the attorney services and sites providing other specific services such as renewing of passports, IDs and driving licenses.
At the moment, the results indicate that most of these online services are yet to become a reality in Saudi Arabia. The country does not use the opportunities offered by internet services in the volume it should do due to the fact that there are other traditional options available. The research findings therefore prove the formulated hypothesis right.
Recommendations
The government of Saudi Arabia should seek efforts to realize the benefits offered by internet services. By doing so, it will be able to introduce various advancements in technological fields and enhance service delivery in both public and private sectors. The country should also re-consider political, social and cultural issues that have a potent impact on adoption of online/internet services.
References
Abanumy, A., Al-Badi, A., & Mayhew, P. (2005). E-Government Website Accessibility: In-Depth Evaluation of Saudi Arabia and Oman. The Electronic Journal of e-Government, 3(3), 96-106.
Aladwani, A.M. (2003). Key Internet Characteristics and e-commerce issues in Arab Countries. Information Technology & People, 16(1), 9-20.
Al-Ghaith, W., Sanzogni, L., & Sandhu, K. (2010). Factors Influencing the Adoption and Usage of Online Services in Saudi Arabia. EJIDC, 40(1), 1-32.
Al-Somali, S.A., Gholami, R., & Clegg, B. (2009). An Investigation into the Acceptance of online banking in Saudi Arabia. Technovation, 29(2), 130-141.
Dwivedi, Y.K., & Weerakkody, V. (2007). Examining the Factors Affecting the Adoption of Broadband in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Electronic Government, an International Journal, 4(1), 43-58.