Dubai's Port, Customs and Free Zone Corporation Collaborates with IBM to Launch Cloud Disaster Recovery Service

New service ensures business continuity while preserving data in-country 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 24 January 2018:   IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Dubai’s Port, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), and its technical arm, DUTECH, today announced an agreement to launch a cloud-based disaster recovery service in Dubai. As part of the agreement, IBM will implement an IBM Cloud-based Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) solution at DUTECH’s data center. The new service will provide organizations in Dubai with cloud-based business continuity capabilities and faster disaster recovery of critical IT systems and the ability to store its data in-country.

PCFC is a leading global trade and logistics enabler and a Government of Dubai corporation which facilitates the advancement of trade and logistics in Dubai. 
The new service will enable PCFC entities and other government agencies as well as private businesses in Dubai, and potentially, the region, to benefit from a cloud-based disaster recovery as a service. This will help protect them against data loss from their own servers or from other cloud services, and can maintain readiness, without the need to invest in physical space or stand-by hardware. 

The service will also provide the replication of critical applications, infrastructure, data and systems to the IBM Cloud-based DRaaS environment, enabling recovery from an IT outage within minutes.

The resiliency team will monitor developing disaster events 24/7 and ensure that the clients’ infrastructure is equipped to keep data, applications and transactions secure from threats. The service will also enable customers to adjust their resiliency strategies based on specific requirements. 

“IT disruptions are inevitable and they can stem from a number of sources. Whether it’s natural disaster, human error or unplanned downtime or outage, all these risks are surrounding businesses today,” said Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman and CEO and Chairman of PCFC. “The new service that we are launching in collaboration with IBM can protect organizations from considerable financial loss as well as irreparable damage from brand reputation. It’s very important to keep abreast of technological advancements in order not only to survive but to thrive and stand out in today’s market. We are embracing this service to sustain and protect the data of our clients and to help other organizations do the same in fulfilment of UAE leading and ambitious plans including Dubai 10X and UAE Centennial 2071 following the vision of our country’s wise leadership.” 

According to MarketsandMarkets, the DRaaS market size in the Middle East is expected to see huge growth during the forecast period 2016 to 2021 with a compound annual growth rate of 44.8%. The Middle East region is experiencing significant adoption of DRaaS with increasing number of cyber-attacks and threat of data loss. The major factors driving the adoption of DRaaS in Middle East comprises security breaches, software failures, hardware failures, and power outage.

“It is important for organizations to always stay one step ahead of any potential internal or external threats,” said Juma Al Ghaith, Executive Director of Customs Development Division at Dubai Customs. “Through the new service, organizations will benefit from faster detection and removal of vulnerabilities as well as speedier data recovery and reduced downtime.”

“In today’s “always-on” world, IBM offerings like DRaaS and Cloud Resiliency Orchestration are built to simplify and automate the disaster recovery process, increase workflow efficiency, and reduce risk, cost, and system testing time,” said Amr Refaat, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Pakistan. “This new service underscores IBM’s expanding business continuity and resiliency services portfolio.”