INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY

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The partnership, formalised during a signing ceremony at Zahid Business Park in Jeddah, marks the start of a multi-year investment designed to strengthen data governance, accelerate AI adoption, improve customer experiences and support technology-led growth in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

Using Snowflake, Zahid Group’ s Digital Solutions Division is consolidating data from across its business units onto a secure, governed, centralised and scalable lakehouse platform. A modern business intelligence ecosystem will provide business leaders with faster access to trusted data, allowing them to spend less time reconciling reports and more time acting on insights. The next phase will introduce Snowflake Cortex AI, enabling employees to interact with data using natural language, reducing reliance on traditional reporting and accelerating decision-making.

The deployment comes as Saudi Arabia intensifies its ambition to become the Middle East’ s leading AI and digital infrastructure hub. The Kingdom has designated 2026 as the Year of AI, while PwC estimates that AI could contribute around 12.4 % of Saudi Arabia’ s GDP by 2030.

Prior to adopting Snowflake, Zahid Group’ s data was spread across multiple systems, requiring extensive manual consolidation and leading to reporting inconsistencies that slowed decision-making. An early proof of value came through the Caterpillar Helios initiative, which demonstrated the benefits of secure, real-time data sharing using Snowflake. Building on that success, Zahid Group is now extending Snowflake’ s capabilities across its digital ecosystem, enabling real-time data streaming and integration with core platforms including Infor and Salesforce.

The connected architecture has standardised critical reporting processes, reducing month-end reporting cycles from days to hours and, in many cases, minutes. By eliminating manual processes and improving data consistency, the platform provides business leaders with timely, trusted insights to support faster decision-making and foster a stronger data-driven culture.

Suzan Sadek, Group IT Manager at Zahid Group, said:“ Data is one of the most valuable assets of the digital economy. By choosing Snowflake, we are building a trusted and scalable data foundation that enables AI-driven innovation, faster decision-making, and improved customer experience. This transformation strengthens Zahid Group’ s competitiveness, while supporting Saudi Arabia’ s Vision 2030 ambition to create a data-driven economy.”

Michel Nader, General Manager for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Snowflake, said:“ Zahid Group is demonstrating how trusted data can become the foundation for enterprise AI at scale. Snowflake brings information closer to customers while providing leading AI capabilities to enable digital transformation across Zahid’ s operating environment. We are proud to support the company’ s next phase too, where employees can access trusted insights faster and strengthen the Group’ s ability to create lasting and scalable value across its businesses.”

Looking ahead, Zahid Group plans to expand the role of Snowflake’ s platform across the organisation by extending governed data products, advanced analytics and AI capabilities into additional business functions, delivering measurable value for customers, partners and employees. •

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