Proofpoint Strengthens Investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Meet Customer Demand for Cloud-Based Cybersecurity Services 

nabd-alhadath –  Ahmed Bin Abdulqader

Proofpoint, Inc., a leading cybersecurity and compliance company today announced that its human-centric security solutions will be delivered through a local data center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The launch was announced during Proofpoint’s Protect Tour in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this week, during a keynote delivered by Sumit Dhawan, CEO at Proofpoint.  

Trusted by more than 60% of the Saudi-based companies listed in the Forbes Global 2000, Proofpoint’s comprehensive AI-driven cybersecurity solutions help organizations navigate today’s complex threat landscape with confidence, delivering robust protection. Available in Q1 2025, Proofpoint’s offerings will enable Saudi-based customers to comply with local data residency policies and the NCA’s (National Cybersecurity Agency) regulations.  

The cyber threat landscape in Saudi Arabia continues to evolve. While CISOs in the Kingdom continue to fear cyber-attacks, they are demonstrating increasing confidence in their ability to defend against them. Proofpoint’s 2024 Voice of the CISO Report reveals that more than two-thirds (67%) of CISOs in Saudi feel prepared to cope with a cyberattack, an increase from 51% last year. This growing confidence may be attributed to the 96% of Saudi CISOs surveyed looking to deploy AI-powered capabilities to help protect against human error and advanced human-centered cyber threats. 

To address this, Proofpoint’s ongoing investments in the region will help organizations in Saudi address human-centric cybersecurity risks, providing the opportunity to benefit from Proofpoint’s market-leading email security solutions, running through an in-country data centre. Proofpoint Email Protection is the only AI/ML-powered, cloud-based threat protection platform that disarms today’s advanced attacks, including email fraud, ransomware, weaponized URLs, multifactor authentication (MFA) bypass for credential phishing, and more.  

“Organizations in the Kingdom face a rapidly evolving threat landscape and our main objective over the coming years is to continue protecting even more companies in the region, with innovative, AI-powered solutions,” said Sumit Dhawan, CEO at Proofpoint. “Our solutions being delivered through local a data center underscores our unrelented investment in a key region for us and highlights our commitment to keep pace with the Kingdom’s accelerating digital transformation under Saudi Vision 2030. This will enable organizations in Saudi Arabia to roll out multi-layered, cloud-native cybersecurity protection that safeguards people and data from today’s biggest threats, while keeping their data in-country.” 

Proofpoint Middle East by the Numbers:  

• Proofpoint is trusted by more than 60% of the Saudi-based organizations listed in the Forbes Global 2000 and protects 568,000 employees in the Kingdom. Proofpoint protects more than 1,200,000 employees across the Middle East.  

• Proofpoint’s Middle East customer base saw a growth of more than 20% in 2024, with continued growth at-pace expected in the coming years.  

• Since 2019, Proofpoint has increased its employee base by more than 40% across the Middle East.  

• Proofpoint works with over 550 partners across the Middle East, Turkey & Africa.  

“Organizations in the Middle East are leading the charge in implementing cybersecurity measures to protect their customers from today’s threat landscape,” said Emile Abou Saleh, Vice President, Northern Europe, Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Proofpoint. “At Proofpoint, we remain committed to empowering organizations with the tools and knowledge needed to safeguard their most valuable assets—their people. With our solutions being delivered through a local data center, we will bring our industry-leading human-centric cybersecurity to more organizations in the region, while better meeting local customer and regulatory needs.” 

To find out more about Proofpoint’s portfolio of human-centric cybersecurity solutions, please visit: https://www.proofpoint.com/uk.