Zain Kuwait and IBM launch Cloud Disaster Recovery service

New service ensures business continuity and resiliency for Zain’s corporate customers

Kuwait, 19 June 2017:

Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, and IBM, today announced their collaboration to launch the Zain Cloud Disaster Recovery (Cloud DR) service in Kuwait. The new service will provide Zain’s enterprise customers with cloud-based business continuity capabilities and faster disaster recovery of their critical IT systems. Through the new service, customers will benefit from the added flexibility of keeping their data on the IBM cloud locally within the country.

Zain Cloud DR will enable Zain’s corporate customers to benefit from IBM’s cloud-based disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS). This will help protect customers 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 Cloud DR service will provide replication of their critical applications, infrastructure, data and systems to the IBM cloud so that it can recover within minutes from an IT outage.

Commenting on the partnership, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Executive Officer Eaman Al Roudhan said:

“today’s announcement comes as part of our vision to transform into the digital lifestyle provider. The business needs of our corporate customers are continuously changing, and offering them with innovative solutions to help maintain resiliency is a top priority for us”.

Al Roudhan continued: “Together with IBM, and through our new Zain Cloud DR service, we aim to provide our customers with a solid and reliable solution to implement their resiliency and continuity strategies as well as address their changing and unique needs. We continuously offer the latest innovations and services that are tailored to match the needs and expectations of our corporate customers, as well as to reinforce our commitment towards enhancing the portfolio of services we offer to the corporate segment”.

Amr Refaat, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Pakistan, commented:

“Unplanned downtime or data loss is a risk any business can face. Not only can this lead to business loss but present a threat to a company’s reputation amongst its customers, stakeholders, and the wider public. Having a resiliency plan in place should play an integral part in every business. Through the new Cloud DR service, Zain customers can run their operations at ease, while we provide around-the-clock monitoring of the recovery environments.”

The new service underscores IBM’s expanding business continuity and resiliency services portfolio. In today’s “always-on” world, IBM offerings like Disaster Recovery as a Service 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 for clients around the world. With more than 50 years of business continuity and disaster recovery experience, today IBM has over 300 resiliency centers across 68 countries.

Zain’s strategy of being a sustainable digital communications company has long focused on the customer experience and using technology to create more value for the customer. The launch of this service is one of the major steps in the company’s strategic plan to introduce more distinctive digital services dedicated to corporate and enterprise customers. Zain believes that corporations are unique by nature and require unique services that recognize and satisfy their needs promptly and efficiently, and today’s announcement is a testament of that belief.