"Aligned with Vision 2030" appears in almost every proposal, and it usually means nothing. The underlying expectations, though, are specific enough to plan against.
Capability has to end up local
A programme that leaves no Saudi capability behind has not delivered, whatever the system does. Build knowledge transfer into the contract, with named people and a date.
Service quality becomes a published number
The direction of travel is measurement: uptime, resolution time, satisfaction. Instrument now, because retrofitting measurement onto a live service is far harder than designing it in.
Data residency is not optional
For a growing set of workloads, in-Kingdom processing is a requirement rather than a preference. Architect for it early; retrofitting residency is expensive.
Interoperability over ownership
Entities are increasingly expected to expose services rather than hoard systems. An API strategy is now a governance question, not just a technical one.
Sustainability enters the business case
Efficiency has started appearing in evaluation criteria. It is worth measuring before someone asks.