ARIS: Process Context Key to Unlocking Measurable AI Value in Saudi Arabia

1. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in AI as part of Vision 2030. From your experience working across the region, where do you see the greatest opportunity for enterprises and government entities in the Kingdom to unlock real value from that investment?

Saudi Arabia has a significant opportunity to use AI for operational efficiency, improving how services are delivered to citizens and businesses across the Kingdom.

The foundation already exists. Organisations have made it their priority and invested heavily in understanding their businesses and building digital infrastructure. The next step is connecting that existing business knowledge with AI. The real value will come from applying AI to clearly defined business challenges and measuring its impact against the KPIs that matter.

2. Many organisations in the region are deploying AI but not yet seeing the outcomes they expected. What is holding them back and what needs to change?

The biggest challenge is often not the technology; it is the alignment between the business objective and the AI strategy. I look at an AI agent much like a new employee. You would not give someone a high-stakes role without training, governance and performance monitoring. AI needs the same foundation.

Organisations need to define what they want AI to achieve, give it the right business context and continuously measure whether it is delivering against strategic objectives. Without that alignment, even good technology can create more complexity rather than value.

3. Process context is emerging as a critical enabler for organisations looking to scale AI. How would you explain its importance to a business leader in the Kingdom who is focused on delivering results?

Simply put, AI can only be as effective as its understanding of the business it operates in. Process context provides that understanding. It shows how the organisation actually works, where decisions are made, where bottlenecks exist and what good performance looks like.

For a business leader, that creates confidence. When processes are measured, validated and understood, organisations have a much stronger foundation for introducing agentic AI and other technologies for ensuring they deliver measurable outcomes.

4. Sectors like financial services, energy, and government are at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s transformation agenda. How is process context helping organisations in these sectors move from strategy to measurable execution?

These sectors have ambitious transformation objectives, but they also operate highly complex and often mission-critical processes. Process context helps organisations see where inefficiencies exist and where intervention can have the greatest impact. With goals such as improving government services, customer journeys, operational efficiency in energy, utilities or financial services, the principle is always the same: understand the organisation’s existing operations and use those insights to improve performance. That is precisely the kind of execution discipline that Vision 2030 demands from both public and private sector organisations across the Kingdom.

5. Data sovereignty is a growing priority for enterprises and government entities across the Kingdom. How does process context support organisations in meeting those requirements while still driving innovation?

Security, compliance and innovation should not be competing priorities for enterprises. Process context gives organisations the visibility into their operations from operational and regulatory perspectives. That is particularly important when AI is being introduced into critical processes, where knowing exactly how data flows,  who accesses it, and what rules govern it is essential. To support this, ARIS has also invested in deployment flexibility, including cloud and on-premise options, ensuring organisations can adopt AI within an environment that meets their specific data, security and regulatory needs without compromising on innovation.

6. ARIS is present at LEAP this year with a strong focus on the Saudi market. What does that signal about the company’s commitment to the Kingdom and what do you want Saudi organisations to take away from that presence?

ARIS has been working with public and private sector organisations in the Kingdom for 15 years, supported by our local presence, partners and system integrators.

What makes LEAP this year particularly exciting is the evolution towards agentic AI in Saudi Arabia. Organisations in the Kingdom are already thinking about how agents can support essential operations. Our role is to provide the business context that enables those agents to operate in a governed, secure and effective way.

The question is no longer just whether you implement AI, but whether your AI understands your business well enough to deliver measurable value.