Zoom’s Strategic Evolution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

As the Kingdom continues its rapid journey toward becoming a global technology hub, Zoom is proud to take center stage at LEAP 2025, the region’s premier technology and innovation event, for the third year.

Focusing on driving digital transformation and innovation, Zoom is highlighting its expanding presence and investment in Saudi Arabia. This underscores its pivotal role in supporting the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 objectives. Over the next three years, Zoom expects to invest significantly in the Kingdom. 

At LEAP 2025, Zoom will unveil its latest plans and partnerships, including the launch of a dedicated data center in the Kingdom, and AI-driven innovations, all tailored to meet the needs of businesses, government entities, and individuals in the Kingdom. 

The Early Days: Planting Digital Seeds

When Zoom initially entered the Saudi market, it encountered an environment ready for digital transformation yet facing distinct challenges. The platform’s early adoption was predominantly driven by the private sector, where forward-thinking businesses sought effective communication solutions to overcome geographic barriers and boost productivity. 

“During our early phases, we recognized our customers saw  Zoom as a promising platform that perfectly aligned with Saudi Arabia’s digital aspirations, although few could anticipate its eventual significance,” reflects Mohannad AlKalash, Zoom’s Managing Director in the METAP region.

In the era of hybrid work, Zoom Workplace has established itself as a leader, enabling organizations to fundamentally transform their operations. “Zoom has transcended its beginnings as a video conferencing app to emerge as an AI-first work platform, seamlessly incorporating advanced features such as AI Companion,” Mr. AlKalash notes.

Zoom offers comprehensive solutions including chat, a virtual phone solution, workspace management, and AI-powered productivity tools that facilitate seamless collaboration between in-office and remote workers. This transformation reflects the changing nature of work, where flexibility and digital connectivity have become essential components of the modern workplace.

Present Growth: Deepening Regional Roots

In February 2023, Zoom established its regional data center with the approval to serve critical national infrastructure (CNI) organizations. As more customers in the Kingdom adopt Zoom, having access to local data centers will support the region’s businesses and their integration into the global economy. Furthermore, this regional data center serves as a crucial foundation for bringing the advanced capabilities of Zoom AI Companion 2.0 and Zoom Contact Center to the Kingdom.

With the growing number of customers, Zoom worked with local partners to establish its own, co-located data center with the requisite licenses currently under issuance. This local infrastructure allows customers to utilize local infrastructure, aligning with Saudi data residency regulations. The investment is a significant step toward better-enabling customers in the region. 

The establishment of Zoom’s regional headquarters in Riyadh marks another watershed moment. This strategic expansion goes beyond mere physical presence, demonstrating a firm commitment to advancing Vision 2030’s digital objectives. 

Localizing Zoom AI Companion

Zoom AI Companion supports several features in Arabic, for example, automatic meeting summaries or answering questions in meetings can be enabled on hardware infrastructure in Kingdom.  Zoom customers in the region will have access to the advanced capabilities of Zoom AI Companion at no additional cost.*

“Being among the first UCaaS providers to host an AI solution specifically for the region demonstrates not only Zoom’s speed of innovation but also our dedication to advancing the Kingdom’s vision,” Mr. AlKalash states. “In the near future, our customers in the Kingdom will be able to seamlessly integrate powerful AI Companion capabilities such as Meeting Summary into their workflows — all while supporting compliance with local regulations.”

Expanding Possibilities

Zoom’s commitment to the Kingdom has been particularly impactful in creating new possibilities for youth development and education. A testament to this flourishing collaboration was the recent visit of MiSK fellows to Zoom’s headquarters in San Jose, California in 2024, where young Saudi talents gained firsthand exposure to Zoom’s cutting-edge technology and innovation practices.

As Saudi Arabia continues its journey toward becoming a global technology hub, Zoom’s evolution in the Kingdom represents a compelling example of successful digital transformation alignment. The platform’s growth trajectory mirrors the Kingdom’s own digital ambitions, Zoom looks forward to being an important part of Saudi Arabia’s technological future. 

With Zoom’s continued investment in infrastructure, talent development, and innovative solutions, its presence in Saudi Arabia is set to expand further, supporting the Kingdom’s vision of a digitally empowered society and economy.

*Zoom AI Companion is included at no additional cost with the paid services in Zoom accounts. 

About Zoom
Zoom’s mission is to provide an AI-first work platform for human connection. Reimagine teamwork with Zoom Workplace — Zoom’s open collaboration platform with AI Companion that empowers teams to be more productive. Together with Zoom Workplace, Zoom’s Business Services for sales, marketing, and customer experience teams, including Zoom Contact Center, strengthen customer relationships throughout the customer lifecycle. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Get more information at zoom.com.