Hewlett Packard Enterprise Opens New Headquarters And A Production Site In Riyadh

The global edge-to-cloud company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) made two significant announcements during the 2023 edition of LEAP, the annual tech conference that explores disruptive future technologies with global tech companies, investors, speakers, and professionals with an aim to support the development of Saudi Arabia’s digital economy.

The first of these was that HPE has launched its new Middle East organization that will be headquartered in Riyadh, and that it will be led by Mohammad Alrehaili, who shall be responsible for HPE’s operations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq and Yemen. Alrehaili was previously the Managing Director for HPE in Saudi Arabia, where he was tasked with driving business growth, expanding the talent pool, and delivering an innovation agenda.

Going forward, Alrehaili will be responsible for building a culture of collaboration across the Middle East and into the global organization. He will strengthen HPE’s partner ecosystem in the region to help drive continued growth and success with the HPE portfolio, particularly with the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform. Alrehaili will also act as sales leader for Saudi Arabia, supporting public and private sector organizations with digital transformation programs that help them meet the Vision 2030 objectives.

“It is a great privilege to lead and shape the new HPE Middle East organization from our new headquarters in Riyadh,” said Alrehaili, in a statement. “With the Saudi Government’s strong commitment to digital innovation through its Vision 2030, Riyadh is a natural home for our Middle East organization. I look forward to sharing learnings and driving collaboration across the region as we look to build on our momentum and replicate our customer successes throughout the Middle East. We have a differentiated edge-to-cloud portfolio, underpinned by the HPE GreenLake platform, that enables us to deliver a data-first modernization approach that our customers require in order to succeed.”

The second of HPE’s key announcements at LEAP 2023 was centered on its partnership with manufacturer and digital solutions provide Alfanar to launch a new production site in Riyadh, where it will produce models from its market leading compute portfolio in the Kingdom. The project is expected to support the goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and and it has been predicated to contribute up to US$500 million to Saudi GDP. It will bring enterprise IT production to Saudi Arabia, with HPE and Alfanar producing thousands of units annually from the leading HPE ProLiant Gen11 server family.

The initiaitive is also a part of a long-term multi-million-dollar investment by HPE and Alfanar that will support critical national initiatives in the public and private sectors. This collaboration has been made possible with the sponsorship, support and participation from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Ministry of Investment (MISA), and the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority. Commenting on the announcement, H.E. Eng. Haitham bin Abdul Rahman Al-Ohali, Vice Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said, “This partnership will be a significant enabler of the Kingdom’s digital ecosystem and reaffirms our aspiration to accelerate digital transformation.

HPE’s intention to establish local production capabilities in Saudi Arabia supports the Kingdom’s ambition to become a high tech manufacturing hub and will play a vital role in developing a thriving digital economy. MCIT, MISA, and the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority welcome the planned investment, and will work together to support HPE as it seeks to scale its operations in the Kingdom.” Following the success of the project kickoff, HPE and Alfanar have ambitious plans for additional product lines in the coming years, and production may be ramped up to support exports to the wider Middle East region.

With a stated commitment to Saudization, HPE and Alfanar intend to train Saudi professionals in high-tech manufacturing and solution building. Marc Waters, Senior Vice President and Executive Sponsor for Saudi Arabia, HPE, said that his company has been committed to Saudi Arabia for over 30 years. “In that spirit, we are absolutely delighted to confirm our intent to bring high tech enterprise IT production to the Kingdom,” he said. “This announcement is a statement of ambition and is just the beginning, we look forward to developing our partnership further, expanding our capability and making a significant, positive contribution to achieving the goals of Vision 2030.”

Meanwhile, Amer Al Ajmi, Executive Vice President, Alfanar, added, “As one of the largest electrical and electronic products manufacturers and digital solutions providers in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, we’re looking forward to working with HPE to expand our capabilities and further contribute to growing the tech ecosystem within the Kingdom. This is in line with our commitment to contribute to local content by empowering local industries.”