Salesforce Middle East’s Mohammed Alkhotani on Innovation

Mohammed Alkhotani, senior vice president and general manager for the Middle East at Salesforce, says the region’s innovation ecosystem is “entering a new era” as organisations shift from AI experimentation to measurable business outcomes. Alkhotani argues that artificial intelligence, trusted data, cloud platforms and automation must be linked to customer experience and business strategy if companies are to convert digital investments into productivity gains, cost reductions and new revenue streams.

“What can this technology do? What problem will it solve, and how will we measure the outcome?” Alkhotani asks, highlighting a growing executive focus on measurable innovation rather than technology for its own sake.

Alkhotani’s comments frame Salesforce’s regional approach, which includes tools such as Agentforce — described as Salesforce’s AI agent and digital labour platform designed to help organisations carry out activities and support business processes. He positions Agentforce within a broader “agentic” trend where intelligent systems perform defined jobs and work alongside employees, freeing people to concentrate on strategic, creative and judgement-driven tasks.

Key points Alkhotani stresses include the centrality of data and the need for a business-first mindset. “Can we trust our data? Are our systems connected? Can staff access the right information? Are we prepared with the right data governance? Can we scale our technologies safely?” he asks, spelling out the operational questions that determine whether AI deployments deliver useful, trustworthy and measurable results.

From Testing to Tangible Results

Alkhotani urges companies to begin AI programmes by identifying specific business challenges — for example, repetitive employee tasks, slow customer responses or decision-makers lacking timely information — and then defining measurable goals. He lists practical targets firms should pursue: quicker response times, increased client satisfaction, less paperwork, better employee productivity, reduced operating costs, higher conversion rates and faster decision-making.

• Strategy: Link AI, data, customer experience, people and business goals rather than treating them as separate projects.
• Tools: Use platforms such as Agentforce to automate routine processes and augment staff capabilities.
• Measurement: Prioritise outcomes that can be tracked, such as customer satisfaction or cost reductions.
• Data: Build strong data foundations, governance and connectivity to ensure AI outputs are reliable.

Alkhotani points specifically to sectors under pressure — banks, retailers, telecoms, airlines and healthcare — where customer expectations shaped by faster digital government services are pushing private enterprises to match seamless experiences. He also highlights Saudi Arabia as an example of a market that has made digital transformation and technology development central to broader economic plans, creating fertile ground for enterprise AI adoption.

Looking ahead, Alkhotani forecasts a future of closer human-AI collaboration rather than wholesale job replacement. He says organisations must invest in workforce training, digital skills and responsible AI practices so employees can redesign work around new capabilities. The result, he suggests, will be innovation judged not by novelty but by demonstrable commercial value — faster decisions, higher satisfaction and measurable efficiency gains enabled by trusted data and agent-driven automation.