Only five out of 10 people are satisfied with innovations currently available in the Kingdom, a report stated yesterday. The data was released at a panel discussion hosted by Philips Electronics Middle East, in Riyadh to announce its latest study.

Philips Meaningful Innovation Index is a 5,000-person, multi-country survey looking at people’s needs, attitudes and expectations of innovation. Based on responses from five key markets , the survey showed that even with the recent advances in technology, there is a huge appetite for innovations that will make a difference in people’s everyday lives.

The panel discussion was moderated by Faisal Al Saif.

Other panelists included Innovation Center manager of King Abdul Aziz and his Abdullah Khan, CEO of Philips Middle East and Turkey; Roy Jakobs, social media personality and Telfaz and C3 Films marketing manager; Abdul Aziz Al Shahlan; and Mohammed Al-Houzimi, technology commercialization and funding unit manager at the BADIR program for Technology Incubators (KACST).

Philips Meaningful Innovation Index compared satisfaction with current innovations with what is important in people’s lives. It found that only 54 percent of Saudis are satisfied with existing innovations in the areas they considered to be the most important to their lives.

People’s preferences across age groups and various life stages consistently point toward an “innovation gap,” indicating that there is room for innovation in 10 key areas of life: Protecting the environment, saving money, stress relief, living independently as one ages, education, preventative health (preventing disease and illness), medical treatment, medical diagnosis, workplace efficiency and saving time.

“Philips is already introducing innovative solutions in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle as a means to address some of the local dissatisfaction found in this study, ” Roy Jakobs said.

“For example, our Philips AirFryer, which allows you to cook healthier foods without the need for oil was so well received in Saudi Arabia that it has become one of the most important markets in the world for the product.

“Philips recognizes Saudi Arabia as a quick adopter of innovative solutions, in comparison not only to the Middle East, but also across the world. In our healthcare business we see leading Philips innovations such as our Ambient Experience, a complete hospital design

solution, providing a real benefit to clinicians, patients and their families across the Kingdom. And in Lighting there is tremendous adoption of energy efficient LEDs happening by businesses, municipalities and consumers.”