Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — LEAP 2026 — IBM today announced that King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), Riyadh’s premier business and lifestyle destination, is leveraging IBM Maximo Application Suite to strengthen enterprise asset management across one of the Kingdom’s most ambitious smart city developments, helping enhance operational visibility, asset lifecycle management, and maintenance efficiency.

As part of its ongoing digital transformation journey, KAFD has also developed a proprietary Transition Management Application built on IBM Maximo environment to address a critical operational challenge: the seamless handover of assets, buildings and sites from construction teams to operations and maintenance teams, setting a new benchmark for the industry.

The solution has been officially registered with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) under KAFD’s name, demonstrating KAFD’s ability to continually innovate and push the boundaries of smart urban development to deliver frictionless and efficient experiences for the residents, visitors, and over 20,000 professionals working in the district. KAFD’s development and implementation of unique smart city technologies enable it to seamlessly manage the district’s mixed-use commercial, residential, and lifestyle offerings.

The solution highlights how organizations can leverage IBM Maximo to build business-specific innovations that address complex operational challenges while creating protected intellectual property assets.

“KAFD identified a clear market gap where no off-the-shelf product could fully support the complexity of transferring large-scale assets from construction into live city operations.,” said Ayman AlRashed, Regional Vice President of IBM. “IBM Maximo Application Suite has provided KAFD with a robust enterprise asset management foundation that supports the operation of a complex smart city environment. Building on that foundation, KAFD was able to develop a purpose-built digital solution tailored to its operational requirements while creating a protected intellectual property asset that supports long-term innovation.”

Together, IBM and KAFD are demonstrating how enterprise asset management platforms can serve as the foundation for industry-specific innovation. Through IBM Maximo Application Suite, KAFD has established a scalable asset management foundation that supports data-driven decision making and operational excellence across the district. By extending the platform to address a complex transition and handover challenge, KAFD has also developed a proprietary Saudi intellectual property asset that advances its smart city ambitions, accelerates digital transformation, and contributes to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives.

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About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

About KAFD

Situated in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, KAFD is an iconic destination that merges the worlds of business and lifestyle in an integrated and sustainable ecosystem, transforming the way contemporary communities live, work, and play. The destination is owned and managed by King Abdullah Financial District Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), which was established in 2018 and is fully owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Today, KAFD hosts over 140 corporate tenants, including 25 regional headquarters.  

With a vision to build a dynamic city of tomorrow, the Kingdom’s first vertical 15-minute city, spanning 1.6 million square meters (total land bank of 9 million square meters) with 95 buildings designed by 25 world-leading architectural firms, has not only shaped the skyline of Riyadh but also transformed the city's economic landscape and redefined the essence of urban living. It is the world’s largest LEED platinum-certified business and lifestyle district, epitomizing Saudi Arabia’s vision for economic diversification, quality of life, and sustainable development.  

For further details about KAFD, please visit www.kafd.sa