Riyadh, October 21, 2024 — The National Data Bank (NDB), a pivotal arm of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), has recently unveiled its ambitious plans to elevate the quality of national data, enhance inter-agency data sharing, and play a crucial role in fostering a data-driven digital economy across the Kingdom. This announcement coincided with this year’s World Statistics Day, underscoring NDB’s commitment to providing essential data to both public and private sectors, as well as individual stakeholders, while supporting robust data analysis efforts.
The NDB stands as the cornerstone for national decision-making, acting as the primary repository of data that drives strategic initiatives and policy-making. The bank operates through a suite of advanced digital platforms and products designed to streamline data accessibility and usability, including the Data Lake, Data Analytics Labs, Data Marketplace, National Data Catalog, and the Open Data Portal.
At the heart of the NDB’s strategy is the Data Lake, which currently aggregates information from over 325 government systems. This platform facilitates automatic and continuous updates directly from original data sources, aiming to establish itself as the unified data source in the Kingdom. By doing so, the Data Lake seeks to enhance efficiency, reduce operational costs, and simplify the data exchange processes among various entities.
Complementing the Data Lake, the Data Analytics Labs offer government employees an innovative digital environment equipped with cutting-edge data and AI technologies. This setting empowers users to delve into the vast data repository, conduct thorough analyses, and generate insightful reports—all while adhering to the governance framework set by the National Data Management Office.
The Data Marketplace serves as a critical tool for automating data-sharing processes within the Kingdom. It enables entities to browse and subscribe to a wide array of data-sharing services, which currently encompass over 420 options. By optimizing the efficiency of data exchanges, the marketplace encourages entities to invest in data-driven initiatives, paving the way for revenue generation and further advancing the Kingdom's digital economy.
To ensure transparency and ease of access, the National Data Catalog meticulously documents metadata related to government systems, strategic performance indicators, and data policies. With metadata from over 370 government systems and more than 2,000 data standards, this catalog allows users to search, discover, and comprehend national data assets effectively, thereby accelerating analysis processes and supporting the implementation of national data management policies.
The Open Data Portal plays an equally vital role by enabling individuals, governmental, and non-governmental entities to publish and share open data with end users, including entrepreneurs. This initiative empowers users to create digital products utilizing the available data, significantly contributing to the growth of the Kingdom’s digital economy. Currently, the portal boasts over 9,400 open datasets sourced from various government entities, accessible at data.gov.sa.
The release highlights NDB's significant achievements, both locally and internationally, through its innovative platforms and initiatives. Notably, it was recognized as the Best Technology Project in Saudi Arabia for 2022 by the Project Management Institute’s Saudi branch and received the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2024 Award in the category of "the role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development."
SDAIA emphasizes the critical role of data and AI technologies in bolstering the capabilities of statisticians. These technologies enhance the accuracy and efficiency of data analysis and forecasting, offering applications such as big data analysis, statistical model development, time series analysis, data classification, and text analysis. Furthermore, advancements in sampling algorithms are expected to enhance the overall effectiveness of statisticians' work, thereby supporting the Kingdom’s vision for a data-driven future.
As NDB continues its mission, it remains committed to transforming the data landscape in Saudi Arabia, paving the way for a robust digital economy rooted in transparency, efficiency, and innovation.