Business software leader Salesforce is rapidly expanding its footprint across the Middle East, doubling its regional workforce in just three months and launching major initiatives in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The company is investing $500 million in Saudi Arabia, opening new offices, and building local data centers with AWS.
Mohammed Alkhotani, Salesforce’s senior vice president for the Middle East, revealed plans to triple regional business within five years. Key to this growth is scaling up technical teams and embedding AI into solutions via partnerships, including an AI Innovation Centre with IBM and university certification programs to meet talent demand.
At the recent Agentforce World Tour Dubai event, over 3,000 attendees explored how Salesforce’s AI-powered tools like Agentforce and Customer 360 are driving digital transformation across industries such as banking, education, and energy.
Alkhotani highlighted the growing role of AI-driven “digital labour” to automate repetitive tasks, freeing sales teams—who currently spend only 27% of their time with customers—to focus on high-value interactions. Internal Salesforce use of Agentforce cut service escalations by 50%, handling over 50,000 weekly conversations.
He advised companies to align AI adoption closely with business goals rather than treating it as a mere tech project. “Investing in digital labour is not an option. It’s a necessity,” Alkhotani emphasized, underscoring the urgency for regional businesses to embrace AI or risk falling behind in the digital race.
