SAIB Advances Trust and Innovation with Modern Storage

For nearly five decades, The Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) has been the backbone of Saudi Arabia’s financial landscape, trusted by nearly one million customers to provide seamless banking services. When growing transaction volumes began testing system performance, SAIB didn’t just adapt—it raised the bar. By modernizing its storage with Pure Storage, Inc., SAIB accelerated transaction speeds, optimized reliability, and ensured customers enjoy uninterrupted banking—anytime, anywhere.

At SAIB, every second counts. Processing millions of transactions daily, the bank is committed to ensuring customers can bank effortlessly—whether withdrawing cash, making payments, or managing finances online. But as demand surged, legacy storage systems began slowing down, putting transaction speeds and service-level agreements (SLAs) at risk.

For Ahmed Megdad, Senior Vice President of IT Operations, the priority was clear: delivering seamless banking without compromise.

“In banking, milliseconds define customer trust,” says Megdad. “We needed a future-ready solution that could scale instantly and keep every transaction running smoothly for our customers.

SAIB modernized its infrastructure with the Pure Storage platform, leveraging FlashArray//X™ and FlashBlade//S™ to instantly transform performance:

• 80% lower latency: Transactions now process in just 0.2 milliseconds
• Faster mobile banking & ATMs: Customers experience near-instant transactions
• Seamless scalability: Easily handles peak traffic, including Ramadan surges

“Speed is everything in banking. With the Pure Storage platform, our customers experience real-time banking—whether they’re making a mobile payment, withdrawing cash, or managing their finances online.”

During high-demand periods like Ramadan, when transaction volumes surge, SAIB’s infrastructure scales effortlessly, keeping the banking experience smooth, no matter how busy things get.

For SAIB, every system must run 24/7—no exceptions. Whether it’s email, mobile banking, or ERP systems, downtime isn’t an option. With Pure Storage, SAIB executed a seamless migration:

• 2,500 email accounts migrated—zero disruptions
• Always-on performance for online banking, ERP, and critical apps

“With Pure Storage, we didn’t just migrate systems—we enhanced them. No disruptions. No downtime. Just better performance across every customer touchpoint.”

At SAIB, security and compliance aren’t just priorities, they’re essential to protecting customer trust. With Pure Storage SafeMode™ Snapshots, the bank has an additional layer of defense against cyber threats like ransomware, ensuring data remains secure and recoverable.

“Pure Storage’s immutable snapshots provide rapid recovery from ransomware and other cyber-attacks, allowing us to restore data quickly and securely,” says Kashif Siddiqui, Senior Infrastructure Manager for SAIB. “This helps us stay compliant with data protection regulations by minimizing potential data loss and downtime.”

Beyond security, a dedicated support team from Pure Storage ensures SAIB operates with minimal disruptions. With a Designated Support Engineer and Service Account Manager, the bank benefits from proactive monitoring and seamless performance, keeping critical operations running smoothly.

This unmatched reliability empowers SAIB to confidently scale high-performance workloads, including:

• Splunk SmartStore, accelerating cybersecurity threat detection and response
• Cloudera Data Platform, powering high-speed analytics and data-driven decision-making

“With Pure, we can process and analyze vast amounts of data faster than ever before. That’s essential for cybersecurity, compliance, and making smarter business decisions,” Siddiqui says.

With Pure Storage Evergreen//Forever™, SAIB’s infrastructure never falls behind. The bank continuously innovates, future-proofing operations while delivering unmatched customer experiences.

“With Pure Storage, we don’t just keep up—we stay ahead. Seamless banking, ironclad security, and real-time performance keep us the trusted choice for our customers,” Megdad says.