Data residency in Saudi: MarTech leader WebEngage bets big on the Kingdom’s thriving business ecosystem

WebEngage, the leading marketing automation platform specializing in customer retention, today announced its ambitious roadmap for KSA. The marketing technology (MarTech) company will create data residency in December, subsequently storing clients’ data within the country, in a move reflective of its commitment to empowering local organizations, particularly in critical infrastructure sectors like banking and public governance, and supporting the Saudi leadership through compliance with localization laws. WebEngage onboarded over 70 new  clients in KSA in the last 12 months, signifying demand for full-suite MarTech tools, including AI analytics, personalization engines, and journey designers. 

“Saudi has quickly emerged as our biggest market, contributing over 35% to our growth. We intend to grow the contributions to 50% in the coming years. WebEngage is particularly bullish about the startup ecosystem, which is brimming with opportunities for more value creation. Likewise, key sectors such as public governance, healthcare, tech, mobility, and ecommerce are ripe for more digital transformation that can catalyze the Vision-2030 journey. With data residency, new offices, and more recruitment, we aspire to play a key role in empowering the business ecosystem and, by extension, boost KSA’s digital economy,” said Hetarth Patel, VP - MEA & Managing Director - UAE, WebEngage. 

Among WebEngage’s 70 onboarded clients last year, about 35 are SMEs and mid-market companies — a segment contributing up to 40% to the GDP of emerging economies like KSA. So, the segment’s growing affinity for automation and insights-led customer engagement in Saudi, WebEngage says, is a promising sign of greater value creation. The SaaS company is particularly optimistic about the demand for MarTech from all quarters, including family offices and administrative bodies planning to replace traditional frameworks with agile and efficient models. 

WebEngage is empowering such companies by unifying their data and enabling omnichannel strategies. It helps enterprises effectively segment their audience and orchestrate personalized campaigns across channels by harnessing AI, automation, and journey designers in its solutions stack. Such insights-led customer engagement often translates to good CX and retention rates, as evident from several client testimonials globally. From December 22nd onwards, through local data hosting, WebEngage is poised to unlock these outcomes at a larger scale in KSA while providing greater information security to clients.

“Enterprise digital transformations give impetus to emerging economies. As a solutions provider, we have closely witnessed how indispensable they have been to the GDP growth of nations like India and Indonesia. With its purpose-driven leadership, geographical advantage, and sizeable youth population, Saudi is well-positioned to scale its digital economy. The decision to hold our flagship conference, EngageMint, in Riyadh earlier was aimed at mobilizing local enterprises for efficiency-driven transformations. The overwhelming response has inspired our ambitious new roadmap,” Hetarth Patel noted. 

WebEngage has already set the ball rolling on its new plans, with recruitment for client-facing roles and a physical office setup underway. The operational expansion, WebEngage asserts, will help better serve its 100+ clients in Saudi, most of whom lead their respective categories: Conglomerates, family offices, omnichannel retailers, ecommerce, perfumery, consumer electronics, public sector, healthcare providers, travel and hospitality, and professional services. They find themselves in the esteemed company of over 800 brands in WebEngage’s global portfolio that stands for efficient marketing, customer-centricity, and retention-led growth.