Because of the growing role of information technology in the nations' economi, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given it top priority. During the past forty years, the IT sector witnessed drastic changes. When the computer was used for the first time in the year 1382H, it was limited to very few applications in the civil governmental sector by the Public Statistics Department. By the early nineties information technology began to be used on a large scale by many government sectors. A new computer center was established and supplied with the necessary equipment. This stage was characterized by using huge computers that cost a lot. However, it began to draw the attention of the private sector, and a number of specialized institutions and companies began to focus on selling and providing maintenance to computers and developing systems and programming. IT applications spread rapidly to cover so many sectors for the purpose of enhancing productivity and advancing performance in the fields of finance, industry, commerce, education, government and health care.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology MCIT is mainly concerned with supervising activities of this sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ensuring that they are comprehensive and widely used as essential services for economic and social development. That is to be achieved through:

- Setting general policies and developmental plans and programs for the telecommunication and IT sector.

-Setting regulation projects relevant to communications and IT.

- Setting plans for the communications and IT sector including those concerned with -services being comprehensive and widespread, and those that follow up their development and approval.

- Coordinating with government departments and others relevant to the communications and IT sector.

- Representing Saudi Arabia in local, regional and international commissions in the telecommunications and IT sector.