The Middle East is quickly catching up to other markets in terms of cloud computing adoption. Government investments and the increasing presence of public cloud providers are making cloud solutions more accessible. These developments are providing organizations in the public and private sectors with a faster route to capturing value from the technology. Bahrain is rapidly advancing in its digital capabilities with the ICT sector contributing over 6.8% to the real GDP in 2022 and witnessing a significant growth of 4.5% in the same year.
Back in 2019, Bahrain made a significant move in the IT sector by inviting AWS to set up its first cloud computing region in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) right in Bahrain. This helped the kingdom to commit to a Cloud-First policy, mandating all government agencies to migrate to cloud-based services.
The Multi-Cloud Advantage
Multi-cloud strategies are much more than just using different cloud services. They represent a deliberate orchestration of various cloud platforms, each chosen for its unique strengths and capabilities. By leveraging this value, businesses in Bahrain can tailor their IT environments to precisely fit their operational needs.
This approach offers remarkable flexibility. You are not locked into the offerings or pricing models of a single provider. Instead, you can mix and match services to create an optimized, cost-effective cloud environment.
Moreover, multi-cloud strategies enable you to keep your critical infrastructure on sovereign managed secure cloud which might offer compliance with local regulations or more tailored services, while distributing less sensitive or more dynamic workloads across other platforms.
Disaster recovery is where multi-cloud truly proves its mettle. Businesses utilizing multi-cloud strategies can reduce their downtime as compared to those relying on a single-cloud solution.
Here are more reasons to opt for a multi-cloud strategy in Bahrain.
- Tailored Service Selection
For instance, you might use AWS for its extensive suite of services, Azure for its integration with Microsoft products, Google Cloud for its AI and machine learning capabilities, and Zaintech Cloud for unparalleled security and fast response time.
- Cost Management
By leveraging different clouds, you can avoid bill shock, and vendor lock-in and choose services that offer the best value for money. This strategy helps in optimizing IT budgets by allocating resources more efficiently.
- Enhanced Performance and Flexibility
Different clouds can be used for different purposes, such as using one for high-compute tasks and another for better data analytics capabilities. This flexibility allows you to optimize your operations and adapt quickly to changing market demands.
- Reinforced Resilience and Disaster Recovery
In a multi-cloud setup, the risk of downtime is significantly reduced compared to relying on a single-cloud solution. Companies can replicate their IT resources across various clouds, ensuring continuity in case one cloud faces issues like a power outage, disk failure, or other disruptions. This is particularly crucial for Bahrain, which, as a growing ICT hub, needs robust disaster recovery capabilities to safeguard against data loss and ensure business continuity.
- Robust Security
Each cloud provider is responsible for the security of its infrastructure, offering different layers and types of security measures. Bahraini companies can benefit from this by tailoring their security needs across various providers, thus enhancing their overall cybersecurity posture. Regular security assessments and upskilling of IT staff are vital in managing these diverse security environments effectively.
- Fostering Network Performance
Multi-cloud strategies can offer low latency and high-speed infrastructure at reduced costs. This not only improves response times and user experience but also optimizes interconnections between different cloud providers, thus enhancing overall network performance.
- Improvised Risk Management
A multi-cloud approach offers enhanced risk management. If one provider’s infrastructure is compromised or fails, resources can be quickly replicated to another cloud, mitigating risks through redundant, independent systems. This aspect is crucial for Bahrain, where cyber threats are a significant concern.
- Meeting Regulatory Compliance
With data localization laws becoming increasingly important, a multi-cloud strategy allows companies to comply with such regulations by leveraging cloud services that have data centers in the required locations, thus ensuring compliance with local and international data laws.
Organizations across the region face a tipping point: They've picked the low-hanging fruit of the cloud but must now reinvent their cloud strategy to truly achieve the cloud's full value.
Learn about the practices organizations are using to reshape their cloud strategy to accelerate value from their cloud investments and unlock future opportunities.
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