Latest news with #MohammedAlkhotani
Gulf Business
19 hours ago
- Business
- Gulf Business
Salesforce accelerates GCC expansion as demand for AI, digital labour surges
Mohammed Alkhotani at Agentforce World Tour. (Image: Supplied) Business software giant Salesforce is stepping up its operations in the Middle East. The global CRM and AI powerhouse has more than doubled its regional team in the past three months, expanded technical operations, and is investing heavily across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. This is according to Mohammed Alkhotani, Salesforce's senior vice president and general manager for the Middle East, who spoke to Gulf Business on the sidelines of the company's Agentforce World Tour Dubai event. 'Our expectation is to grow the business three times over the coming four to five years,' Alkhotani said. 'This isn't just a commercial office: we've tripled down on solution engineers and technical capacity.' The company has opened a new UAE office, committed to a $500m investment in Saudi Arabia, and is establishing local data centres in both countries in collaboration with AWS. It is also launching an AI Innovation Centre with IBM and working with regional universities to embed Salesforce certifications into curricula to meet surging demand for talent. Flagship event That ambition was on full display last week at Agentforce World Tour Dubai, Salesforce's flagship regional event held at Madinat Jumeirah. More than 3,000 customers, partners and associates gathered to explore AI's transformative role in sectors ranging from retail and real estate to education and energy. The event featured a powerhouse line-up of keynote speakers, including Alkhotani; Marco Hernansanz, Salesforce's executive vice president and CEO for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa; Maha Alaoui, head of solution engineering for MEA; Polly Summer, chief adoption officer; and Olfa Kharrat, director of product management for AI and Agentforce. Each brought insights into how Salesforce is fusing AI, data and CRM to help organisations transform at scale. Mohammed Alkhotani speaking on stage at Agentforce World Tour. (Image: Supplied) Customers such as the National Bank of Kuwait, Aldar Education, and Engie took the stage to showcase how they've used Salesforce tools — Agentforce, Data Cloud, and Customer 360 — to digitise operations and deliver better customer experiences. 'This event has offered the ideal opportunity to showcase the power of Agentforce to transform organisations with autonomous AI agents that complement human employees,' said Alkhotani. 'It's about delivering new levels of efficiency and customer experience.' A central theme of the day was AI, and specifically, the rise of digital labour. With sales reps in the UAE spending just 27 per cent of their week engaging with customers, businesses are increasingly looking to automate repetitive, low-value tasks. According to Salesforce's own research, 75 per cent of UAE sales teams have either implemented or are experimenting with AI. '41 per cent of the workforce face low-value tasks daily,' Alkhotani said. 'Digital labour supports your team, or acts by itself, to do those tasks for you and achieve better customer service.' Salesforce's own deployment of Agentforce internally has shown the value of this approach. 'We implemented Agentforce for our service employees, and we were able to reduce escalations by 50 per cent,' he said. 'It now handles more than 50,000 conversations a week and analyses over 850,000 articles weekly.' Making AI work So how should organisations start preparing themselves to deploy AI effectively? 'Start with the business,' said Alkhotani. 'See what the needs are. How do you dream your business would interact with clients in a year or two? Then work backward. Which AI? How many agents? Which data and interactions? What architecture?' On whether companies in the region are adapting to the current AI wave, Alkhotani had this insight to offer. 'Many are understandably perplexed by AI and how to deploy it effectively,' he said. 'Some approach it as a tech project, building infrastructure without tying it to real use cases. But the key is to focus on the business impact: on what application sits on top and supports which function.' Alkhotani's message was clear: in a region racing to embrace digital transformation, AI is no longer optional. Businesses that wait risk falling behind. 'The performance will be better, faster, more accurate,' he said. 'Investing in digital labour is not an option. It's a necessity.'
Channel Post MEA
6 days ago
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Salesforce Showcases AI-powered Digital Labour
Salesforce showcased the transformative potential of AI-enabled digital labour for organisations in the Middle East at Agentforce World Tour Dubai, held at Madinat Jumeirah today. Salesforce brought together more than 3,000 delegates for the event, including customers, partners, and associates, demonstrating the fast-growing interest and strong demand for digital labour solutions that can help drive efficiency and transformation for organisations across all sectors. Keynote speakers included Salesforce's Marco Hernansanz, executive vice president & CEO Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa; Mohammed Alkhotani, senior vice president and general manager, Middle East; Maha Alaoui, head of solution engineering, MEA; Polly Summer, Chief Adoption Officer; and Olfa Kharrat, director of product management for AI and Agentforce. The speakers shared insights about the company's strategy and how its latest innovations in AI, data and CRM are helping customers transform. Delegates gained insights into how organisations are transforming with Salesforce solutions including Agentforce, Data Cloud and Customer 360 to drive success on a unified, trusted platform. Keynotes and presentations, including by Salesforce's customers and partners, covered the role of AI in sectors such as retail, real estate, travel, automotive, and manufacturing. They also explored using Data Cloud to create a trusted foundation for Agentforce, how to make the leap from 'good to great' customer experience, and how organisations can grow their team's AI experience. More than 15 customers from across the region participated in the event, demonstrating transformative use-cases that illustrate how they have transformed key aspects of their operations with Salesforce. National Bank of Kuwait revealed how it has leveraged data in Tableau to uncover insights, drive smarter decisions, and enhance business performance. In a session titled, 'Transforming Education with AI & Automation', Aldar Education, a leading education group in Abu Dhabi, discussed its partnership with Publicis Sapient to digitize student services, streamline admissions, and enhance parent engagement using AI-powered automation. Meanwhile, French energy group Engie, which has operations around the world including a regional HQ in Dubai, demonstrated how it used a tailored Salesforce Cloud solution to transform its renewable energy sales in Poland. Other companies presenting at the event were: Al Tayer, MAF Retail LLC, Zulekha Hospital, Ducab, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Red Sea Global, and Marhaba. The potential of Agentforce and digital labour to transform operations featured prominently with sessions focused on private and public sector transformation, particularly the delivery of citizen services, and real estate, where Salesforce is helping customers optimise sales processes and enhance productivity to deliver a better experience for buyers and sales teams. Mohammed Alkhotani said that AI and digital labour will play an increasing role in enabling organisations to raise efficiency while innovating, improving customer service, and supporting national visions. 'Organisations in the Middle East are keen to leverage AI to transform their operations and thrive amid tough competition,' Alkhotani said. 'Customers want to tap growth opportunities and support national visions – yet many are understandably perplexed by AI and how to deploy it effectively. Today's event offered the ideal opportunity to showcase the power of Agentforce to transform organisations with autonomous AI agents that complement human employees, while delivering new levels of efficiency and customer experience.' With AI skills vital to the success of digital transformation within organisations, Salesforce recently partnered with Chalhoub, the Dubai-based luxury goods retailer and distributor, to create a training program to empower women at the company. The Chalhoub x Salesforce Women in Tech Leadership & Innovation Program was themed 'Women Driving Digital Innovation: AI, Data, and Cloud for the Future', and more than 60 participants graduated during Agentforce World Tour having completed a rigorous four-week course. The program focused on areas including technology and leadership; customer centricity; diversity, equity and inclusion; and future skills and career growth. Representatives from Chalhoub and Salesforce delivered a keynote at Agentforce World Tour to spotlight the program's successes in empowering women to spearhead digital leadership. Salesforce is well positioned to support transformation efforts in the UAE and the wider region after establishing a new office in the UAE in October 2024 and committing to invest $500m in Saudi Arabia earlier in the year. Organisations are keen to deploy AI, but don't necessarily have all the know-how and tools to do so effectively. Nearly half of customer service teams, over two-fifths of salespeople, and a third of marketers say they've fully implemented AI to augment their work, yet 77% of business leaders cite nagging issues around trusted data and ethics that could grind their deployments to a halt, according to Salesforce's most recent Trends in AI for CRM report. Meanwhile, organisations in the UAE increasingly recognise the need for AI-based solutions to liberate human employees from the repetitive, mundane tasks that often reduce productivity. With sales reps in the UAE spending an average of just 27% of the workweek connecting with customers, organisations see AI as a potential solution – 75% of sales teams in the UAE have either fully implemented AI or are experimenting with the technology, according to Salesforce's most recent State of Sales report. This indicates pent-up demand for solutions that offer to simplify effective AI deployments. 0 0
Al Arabiya
23-05-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Firms steam into Saudi Arabia as visa reforms accelerate foreign investment
Saudi Arabia is experiencing a surge in foreign business investment as recent regulatory reforms, visa liberalization, and economic incentives transform the Kingdom into an increasingly attractive destination for global corporations to base their headquarters. Companies from tech giants to service providers are establishing regional headquarters in the Kingdom, drawn by its strategic location, large market, and ambitious Vision 2030 economic diversification plan. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Salesforce, the global customer relationship management leader, recently announced a $500 million investment in Saudi Arabia, including plans for a regional headquarters in Riyadh and an AI development center. 'Our decision to expand in Saudi Arabia is based on the opportunities presented by the Kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 initiative, in addition to the size and importance of the Kingdom in the region,' Mohammed Alkhotani, senior vice president and general manager of Salesforce Middle East, told Al Arabiya English. This investment will unfold over several years and includes workforce development through AI skilling and expansion of Salesforce's local partner ecosystem. The company has already begun developing its new headquarters and implementing a hiring strategy to support projected growth. Similarly, Skin Laundry, a US-based skincare company, has designated Saudi Arabia as its entry point for Middle Eastern expansion, with plans to open 20 to 25 clinics in the Kingdom over the next five years. 'Saudi Arabia is a critical component of our expansion plan for the Middle East. Its size, population, and economic stability are key factors that led us to choose Saudi Arabia as our entry point into the region,' said Ayman Sabi, CEO of Skin Laundry MENA, also speaking to Al Arabiya English Vision 2030 aligns with corporate growth strategies The Kingdom's Vision 2030 initiative, aimed at reducing dependence on oil and developing public service sectors, has created a hospitable environment for businesses seeking long-term growth opportunities. 'Vision 2030's goals of digital transformation and economic diversification are well aligned with Salesforce's long-term growth strategy,' Alkhotani explained. 'The Kingdom's focus on building a knowledge-based economy, developing digital infrastructure, and attracting foreign investment creates a significant growth market for a broad range of technology solutions.' This alignment between national goals and corporate objectives has become a recurring theme among companies establishing or expanding operations in Saudi Arabia. 'We are fully aligned with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. The country's commitment to investing in infrastructure, technology, and services supports our successful expansion, and we look forward to the various initiatives that will facilitate our growth,' said Sabi. Regulatory reforms open doors for foreign investment A series of regulatory reforms has dramatically improved the business landscape in Saudi Arabia. The February 2021 announcement requiring businesses to establish regional headquarters in the country by the end of 2023 to work on government contracts has accelerated corporate relocations. Additionally, labor law changes that took effect in March 2021 have enhanced worker mobility, allowing employees to change jobs without employer approval and making the country more attractive to international talent. 'One of the most significant regulatory reforms was allowing foreign investors to operate in Saudi Arabia. As an American company, this regulatory shift was a key enabler for our entry into the market,' said Sabi. 'Additionally, ongoing efforts to streamline business operations and enhance the ease of doing business in the Kingdom have further encouraged our decision to enter and expand within Saudi Arabia.' The introduction of a temporary work visa in early 2021, permitting short-term employees to stay in the country for 90 days, along with tourist visa reforms, including visa-on-arrival for certain passport holders introduced in September 2022, have further opened the country to foreigners. Strategic geographic advantage Saudi Arabia's central location between Europe, Asia, and Africa has emerged as a critical factor in companies' decisions to establish regional headquarters in the Kingdom. 'Saudi Arabia's geographic location is another key strategic advantage. As Skin Laundry continues its global expansion, the Kingdom's central position enables us to establish a regional headquarters that can effectively support our growth across Asia, Europe, and Africa,' Sabi explained. This strategic positioning allows companies to use Saudi Arabia as a launching pad for broader regional operations, enhancing the Kingdom's status as a commercial hub. Improved business environment Business leaders report a significant transformation in Saudi Arabia's business climate compared to previous years, with streamlined processes and reduced bureaucratic barriers. 'It's now significantly easier to do business in Saudi Arabia compared to five years ago. Back then, entering the market as a foreign investor was not feasible, and obtaining visas—especially work visas for our staff—was much more challenging,' Sabi observed. 'Today, the ability to travel in and out of the country with ease, along with the notable improvements across various government agencies, marks a major shift from the past.' The Kingdom's commitment to technological advancement has particularly attracted tech companies looking to participate in Saudi Arabia's digital transformation. Salesforce plans to bring Hyperforce, its next-generation platform architecture, to Saudi Arabia through a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). 'Hyperforce in KSA enables Salesforce's global customer base to run workloads locally through a distributed public cloud infrastructure,' Alkhotani said, highlighting the company's commitment to building digital infrastructure in the Kingdom. Talent development As foreign companies establish operations in Saudi Arabia, many are investing in developing local talent to meet their specialized workforce needs. Salesforce has committed to upskilling 30,000 Saudi citizens in artificial intelligence, partnering with Riyadh-based Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University to bring AI-focused learning and workforce development opportunities to students. 'The Kingdom is home to a large population of young, talented, and ambitious people. Salesforce is keen to help develop this talent... We have extensive experience of working with partners, including universities around the world, on training and work experience. We are excited to expand and accelerate these initiatives in Saudi Arabia,' Alkhotani said. Skin Laundry is taking a similar approach to address the technical skills required for its operations. 'Given the technical nature of our operations, accessing the right talent is a global challenge—not just a local one. To address this, we are actively investing in tailored training programs to develop the skilled workforce we need,' Sabi explained. Saudi authorities have implemented various incentives to attract foreign businesses, though the specifics vary by sector and company size. 'We have been approached by various governmental agencies encouraging us to place a headquarters in Saudi Arabia, some of them are financial, some of them are regulatory and also the possibility of investing in training programs that the government will assist us in,' Sabi noted. With a population of over 35 million, Saudi Arabia offers companies access to a large and growing consumer market, particularly appealing to retail and service companies. 'We've long seen Saudi Arabia as the key player in the Middle East. Its vast population and geographic size present a significant opportunity for growth compared to neighboring markets,' said Sabi. 'We see this scalability as one of Saudi Arabia's greatest strategic advantages.'
Khaleej Times
26-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
86% of software development teams in UAE will use AI agents within two years
AI agents are set to revolutionise software development processes in the UAE, where 100 per cent of teams use, or expect to use, AI code for generation, a report showed. According to Salesforce's new State of IT survey of software development leaders, UAE leaders expect their teams will increasingly focus on working with business stakeholders, editing code written by AI, and architecting complex systems. The large global study of more than 2,000 software development leaders, including 100 IT leaders in the UAE and a supplementary survey of 250 frontline developers in the United States, found that 86 per cent of teams in the UAE will use AI agents within two years and 70 per cent believe AI agents will be essential as traditional development tools. The UAE data aligns with global trends, with more than 9 in 10 developers around the world excited about AI's impact on their careers, while an overwhelming 96 per cent expect it to change the developer experience for the better. The survey also revealed that more than four in five globally believe AI agents will become as essential to app development as traditional software tools. The report highlights nearly unanimous excitement about agentic AI. Developers are not only looking to agents to unlock greater efficiency and productivity, but 92 per cent globally believe agentic AI will help them advance in their careers. Some developers, however, believe that they, as well as their organisations, need more training and resources to build and deploy a digital workforce of AI agents. Developers have often been painted as wary of AI, but new research reveals they are enthusiastic about the industry's shift to AI agents. The arrival of agentic AI provides developers with the opportunity to focus less on tasks like writing code and debugging and grow into more strategic, high-impact work. And with developers increasingly using agents powered by low-code/no-code tools, development is becoming faster, easier, and more efficient than ever — regardless of developers' coding abilities. 'This survey indicates a strong enthusiasm for AI among UAE developers. However, the results also reveal that organisations have significant work to retool for the agentic AI era. Salesforce looks forward to providing partners and customers across the UAE and the Middle East with the tools to deploy and manage agentic AI effectively, allowing them to supercharge their transformation plans while supporting ambitious government goals such as the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031,' said Mohammed Alkhotani, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Salesforce Middle East. 'AI agents are revolutionising the way developers work, making software development faster, more efficient, and more enjoyable. This powerful digital workforce streamlines development by assisting with writing, reviewing, and optimising code — unlocking new levels of productivity. By automating tedious tasks like data cleaning, integration, and basic testing, AI agents free developers to shift their focus from manual coding to high-value problem-solving, architecture, and strategic decision-making,' said Alice Steinglass, EVP & GM, Platform, Integration and Automation. Developers are enthusiastic about agentic AI and its impact on their career Respondents are excited for agents to take on simple, repetitive tasks, freeing them up to focus on high-impact projects that contribute to larger business goals. 96 per cent of developers globally are enthusiastic about AI agents' impact on the developer experience. Developers are most eager to use AI agents for debugging and error resolution, then for generating test cases and building repetitive code. The arrival of agentic AI comes at a time when 92 per cent of developers are looking to measure their productivity based on impact over output. With the help of AI agents, developers believe they'll focus more on high-impact projects like AI oversight and architecting complex systems. With agents powered by low-code/no-code tools, developers of all levels can now build and deploy agents. Respondents believe these tools will help democratise and scale AI development for the better. 85 per cent of developers globally, and 68 per cent in the UAE, who are using agentic AI currently use low-code/no-code tools. 77 per cent of developers globally, and 78 per cent in the UAE, say that low-code/no-code tools can help democratise AI development. 78 per cent of developers globally say that the use of low-code/no-code app development tools can help scale AI development. Developers say updated infrastructure and more testing capabilities and skilling opportunities are critical as they transition to building and deploying AI agents. Infrastructure Needs: Many developers (82 per cent globally, and 81 per cent in the UAE) believe their organisation needs to update their infrastructure to build/deploy AI agents. Over half (56 per cent) of developers say their data quality and accuracy isn't sufficient for the successful development and implementation of agentic AI. Testing Capabilities: Nearly half (48 per cent globally and 46 per cent in the UAE) of developers say their testing processes aren't fully prepared to build and deploy AI agents. Skills and Knowledge: More than 80 per cent of developers globally, and 74 per cent in the UAE, believe AI knowledge will soon be a baseline skill for their profession, but over half don't feel their skillsets are fully prepared for the agentic era. Meanwhile, 56 per cent of software development leaders in the UAE say they've introduced employee training on AI.
