Top lessons from 8 years of managed cloud in the GCC

As we turn the chapter on another year, cloud will continue to support the business world’s transition towards the new normal. Gartner expects global spending on cloud services to reach over $482 billion in 2022, up from $313 billion this year.

For us at BIOS Middle East, the moment is a cause for celebration. We have completed 20 years in the region. It also marks eight years since we brought the concept of managed cloud to the GCC, by launching CloudHPT in 2013.
What is a managed cloud?
Managed cloud services help organizations build their infrastructure and servers in the cloud. Companies can choose which services they want to outsource and which they want to run inhouse. An example of this might be customers that want dedicated SAP Hana boxes for ultra high performance.

The benefits of BIOS managed cloud
Hundreds of companies across the region have embraced CloudHPT, the managed cloud solution from BIOS Middle East over the past eight years. Moving applications and data to a managed cloud as opposed to owning on-premises data centres has helped companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other parts of the region to leverage the following business efficiencies:

• Eliminate CapEx for IT infrastructure
• Slash costs associated with IT
• Outsource the management of IT infrastructure
• Roll out remote workforce solutions
• Increase business agility
• Improve innovation

Managed clouds support digital transformation
However, what companies in the GCC and beyond often overlook is the key role managed cloud plays in digital transformation. Once applications and operating systems are moved off legacy on-premises equipment, it becomes easier and less risky to upgrade them, undertake proof of concepts and conduct user acceptance testing.
In-house IT departments also have more time to focus on leveraging emerging technologies for business growth because they are not spending all their time on supporting business operations and firefighting, something often referred to as trying to ‘keep the lights on. With CloudHPT, your OS, workloads, storage, and security are all managed and monitored 24x7. Your operating systems are patched, engineers check your backups are successful and connections in and out of your cloud are monitored for security. This is in sharp contrast to hyperscalers, which although suitable for robotics, AI and other technologies, require significant manpower to operate. As such, hyperscalers are only as good as the person managing them. A cloud supplier with local experience such as BIOS Middle East is therefore the preferred digital transformation partner for the region’s biggest businesses.

Managed clouds and data privacy
In addition, a timely and relevant business imperative that local managed clouds help address is data protection.
As data privacy becomes more important – the UAE has just issued a landmark data protection law and other countries across the region are expected to follow suit – businesses are being required to keep their data close to them. With local CloudHPT footprints in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyad, Jeddah and Muscat – with more to follow – customers in each jurisdiction can host their applications locally. BIOS Middle East is therefore able to guarantee – almost uniquely in the region – that valuable data never leaves the country.

Find out more about what a local managed cloud can do for you by downloading our cloud guide here.