Innovative and Agile Contracting for Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0

Digital transformation is reshaping the business arena as new, successful digital business models are increasing agility and presenting better ways to handle business than the traditional alternatives. Industry 4.0 affects everything in our daily lives and is blurring the line between the physical, the biological, and the digital. This created an environment where technology and humans are so closely integrated that it is impacting every activity within the organizations. Specifically, contracting processes and procedures are challenged to align with the new business dynamics as traditional contracts are no longer fitting today's agile and continuously changing environments. Businesses are required to facilitate faster, more secure, soft, and real-time transactions while protecting stakeholders' rights and obligations. This includes agile contracts which are dynamically handling scope changes, smart contracts that can automate rule-based functions, friction-less contracts that can facilitate different activities, and opportunity contracts that looks toward the future.

Innovative and Agile Contracting for Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0 analyzes the consequences, benefits, and possible scenarios of contract transformation under the pressure of new technologies and business dynamics in modern times. The chapters cover the problems, issues, complications, strategies, governance, and risks related to the development and enforcement of digital transformation contracting practices. While highlighting topics in the area of digital transformation and contracting such as artificial intelligence, digital business, emerging technologies, and blockchain, this book is ideally intended for business, engineering, and technology practitioners and policy makers, along with practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in understanding the scope, complexity, and importance of innovative contracts and agile contracting.

Mohammad Shalan is a bilingual, multi-discipline business-technology interpreter. Enthusiastic to get more people in the digital transformation train and an optimistic builder in the 4th industrial revolution. A practitioner, author, guest speaker and researcher with published chapters, articles, and presentations. Willing to distilling complex problems into simple solutions, add value and volunteer. Well certified and connected with 9 professional certifications (PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CSX®, CRMA®, ITILF®, CISA®, CGEIT®, CRISC®, CXO®), active membership in 6 well-recognized professional organizations, and distinguished training classes in 16 countries. Adding to his master’s degree in telecommunication engineering from University of Jordan. Mohammad is a working professional since 1995 in the Technology industry and Digital Transformation leadership. He is currently working as a head of technology for Aqarat Real Estate Development Company (Omar Kasem Alesayi Group) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Prior to this he has worked in several operational and project management roles at SITA which is a leading multinational technology service provider for airlines and airports. Mohammad Shalan has worked out major operational assignments, portfolios, programs and projects spanning in more than 50 countries and worth more than US$50M. Assignments include distributed activities, numerous dependencies, heavy correspondences, multiple vendors and contractors in multiple disciplines. Mohammad Shalan used to manage multi-nationality, multi-talent, changeable skills, local or geographically distributed staff and project teams. Worked to acquire and transfer knowledge, motivate and inspire teams. Working to be a true digital consultant that brings together the creative and technology capabilities, business acumen, and industry insight needed to help transform the business. Focus areas include IT Service management, digital transformation, enterprise architecture, 4th industrial revolution tools and user experience. In summary, Mohammad Shalan have spent years ‘honing skills’ in the science and art of soft skills and the required business-technology passions to boost value in a wise manner. He utilizes audit, risk, governance and program/project management to bring a strategic outlook to a business environment.

Mohammed Ayedh Algarni received his Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of North Texas, USA in 2014. He got his master’s in Information Management from Emporia State University, Kansas, USA in 2005 and his Bachelor’s in Information Science from King Saud University, in Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia in 1999. Currently, he is the chairman of the documents and archives committee and the director general of the information Center in the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), Saudi Arabia. Additionally, he is working as an information technology consultant, committee’s member, career adviser and trainer at Institute of Public Administration (IPA). Dr. Mohammad is also an advisor or partner in several projects or companies that is working in information science and emerging technologies fields. Dr. Mohammad is the translator of the book “Business Intelligence, Analytics, and Data Science: A Managerial Perspective” to Arabic language and the editor of the book “Information management and decision support in organizations” that was published by the Institute of Public Administration Riyadh. Furthermore, he is the author, reviewer, contributor and translator of several articles, journal papers, conference proceeding and other publications. Dr. Mohammad has a wide range of experiences in documentation structuring, information management, business intelligence (BI), data analytics, strategy and governance, and related technology selection. Dr. Mohammad has helped several organizations in public and privet sectors retrieve actionable insights out of their raw data to accelerate decision-making and improve business performance. Dr. Mohammad has got plenty of honors and awards during his journey and is a member of several professional organizations in USA and Saudi Arabia including the Global Information Technology Management Association, the Decision Sciences Institute DSI, the American Library Association and the Saudi Library and Information Association.