At the Salesforce World Tour Essential, Dubai, the AI CRM company showcased the transformative power of its latest AI and cloud-based solutions to over 2,000 customers, partners, and associates. The company emphasised its focus on the Middle East region.
The event emphasised the critical role of technology, particularly Salesforce’s ecosystem, in creating a pipeline of tech talent that offers valuable employment opportunities while driving AI and digital transformation in the region.
IDC estimates that Salesforce and its partner ecosystem, powered by AI-driven cloud solutions, will generate $5.1 billion in net new business from 2022 to 2028. The report projects a net gain of 21,800 jobs in the UAE through AI-powered cloud solutions by 2028.
The Salesforce ecosystem of partners in the Middle East grew by 29 per cent in FY24, with a notable 35 per cent increase in certifications and 29 per cent more consultants. These partners are helping organisations across all sectors raise employee productivity and transform with real-time insights and new levels of customer experience.
“Every CEO I speak to knows they need to make major investments in AI to fuel growth and strengthen customer relationships. At Salesforce, we’re excited by the strides our customers and partners in the Middle East are taking to succeed in AI. World Tour Essentials Dubai offers the perfect showcase of the region’s potential as a centre of innovation,” said Lori Steele, President and CRO of Salesforce EMEA.
“Organisations in the region are striving to grow their businesses while managing ever-higher customer and stakeholder expectations,” said Thierry Nicault, Area Vice President, Middle East, Salesforce.
“Companies want to embrace technology and leverage their data, but the pace of change often leads to confusion and an inability to act, stifling innovation and agility. We wanted to use Salesforce World Tour Essentials Dubai to demonstrate how our customers can raise productivity, improve visibility, and transform their operations by smartly deploying AI and digital tools. By embracing the power of AI, organisations in the public and private sector can seize growth opportunities and contribute to the wider project of economic diversification.”
Salesforce customers from government, retail, real estate, energy, and banking sectors shared their experiences overcoming challenges using Salesforce solutions like Data Cloud and the Einstein 1 Platform. Organisations such as Saudi retail giant Cenomi and Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center discussed their digital transformation journeys.
Data Cloud is a data platform that unifies all of a company’s data on Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Platform, providing every team a 360-degree view of every customer to drive automation and analytics, personalise engagement, and power trusted AI. It turns disconnected data into a single, trusted model that’s easy to access and understand.
Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Platform integrates the company’s suite of applications spanning sales, service, marketing, e-commerce, analytics, and industry solutions. Businesses can increase productivity, build deeper customer relationships, and boost margins by seamlessly combining generative AI, data management, CRM capabilities, and trusted systems.
Nicault highlighted the importance of integrating AI into business processes: “Companies want to embrace technology and leverage their data, but the pace of change often leads to confusion and an inability to act, stifling innovation and agility. We wanted to use Salesforce World Tour Essentials Dubai to demonstrate how our customers can raise productivity, improve visibility, and transform their operations by smartly deploying AI and digital tools.”
In December, Salesforce launched Hyperforce in the UAE, its trusted platform architecture that harnesses the scale and agility of the public cloud to deploy Salesforce solutions and provide its global customer base with enhanced flexibility to grow globally and serve locally.
Delivered through a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Hyperforce represents a significant advancement of the Salesforce platform. It enables new options to secure and store data in-country, which is crucial for regulated industries such as government, financial services, and telecommunications.
Marc Mathieu, Senior Vice President of AI at Salesforce, emphasised the transformative impact of Hyperforce, “This scalable infrastructure allows our partners and our customers to leverage the Salesforce platform’s full potential, ensuring data security and compliance with local regulations.”
Salesforce’s investments in the Middle East are creating significant value. IDC estimates that Salesforce’s ecosystem will create 1,000 net new jobs in the region and generate over $5 billion in revenue opportunities through AI-powered applications. The company’s strategic partnership with AWS and the scalable infrastructure of Hyperforce allow partners and customers to leverage Salesforce solutions for growth and success.
