INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY

The partnership establishes Salam as an authorised reseller of Zoom’ s collaboration platform in Saudi Arabia, expanding access to AI-powered communications solutions for businesses across the Kingdom.

Under the agreement, Salam will serve as a go-to-market and delivery partner for Zoom’ s technology, combining its local market reach and delivery capabilities with Zoom’ s platform.

Customers will gain access to collaboration tools spanning video, voice and meetings, supported by Zoom’ s AI capabilities and locally hosted infrastructure. The companies said this would help address data residency and cybersecurity requirements, particularly for government organisations and regulated sectors.

Abdullah Khorami, Chief Business Officer at Etihad Salam Telecom Company, said:“ At Salam, we are committed to equipping businesses across Saudi Arabia with the tools they need to thrive. Our partnership with Zoom is a natural extension of that commitment, bringing together our deep market presence and delivery expertise with one of the world’ s most trusted collaboration platforms. Through locally hosted, AI-powered solutions through a single, integrated experience, we are giving organizations in the Kingdom a powerful advantage, enabling them to work smarter, move faster, and achieve more.”

Mohannad AlKalash, Vice President, Middle East, Türkiye, Africa and Pakistan( METAP) at Zoom Communications, said:“ Digital collaboration is evolving beyond meetings and it is becoming a critical platform for delivering intelligent, accessible and secure services. Through our partnership with Salam, we aim to bring Zoom’ s AI-first platform – powered by Zoom AI and ZoomMate to some of Saudi Arabia’ s most important sectors.”

He added:“ Together, we will enable high-impact use cases including AI-powered contact centers, virtual banking branches, digital healthcare consultations, remote

At Salam, we are committed to equipping businesses across Saudi Arabia with the tools they need to thrive. government services, intelligent customer engagement and modern hybrid workplaces.”

The partnership comes as demand for unified communications and cloud-based contact centre services grows in Saudi Arabia, driven by AI adoption, cloud transformation and Vision 2030.

By combining Salam’ s local presence, connectivity capabilities and market reach with Zoom’ s communications and customer experience platform, the partnership aims to help organisations innovate while addressing requirements around data sovereignty, privacy, security and regulatory compliance.

Zoom has also been expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia. The company said its operations align with the SAMA Cloud Computing Framework, which sets data residency, sovereignty and security requirements for regulated financial institutions adopting cloud services in the Kingdom.

Zoom’ s recent launch of an AI data centre in Saudi Arabia is also intended to support regulated sectors with locally hosted AI-first communications infrastructure. •

INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 29