COUNTRY FOCUS: KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN
Manager® (a flexible, high-performance
access and security solution that provides
unified global access to applications and
the network). In addition, F5® BIG-IP®
Link Controller™ manages and reroutes
connections based on link type and
quality, ensuring a better user experience
and reducing downtime.
As well as improving overall operational
efficiency and slashing total cost
of ownership (TCO), F5’s solutions
will scale to handle Gulf Air’s future
growth trajectory, enabling the airline
to tap into the benefits of emerging
technologies such as Software-Defined
Networking (SDN) and Software-
Defined Storage (SDS).
Gulf Air IT data
centre achieves
Tier Three Standard
Compliance
Gulf Air currently runs over 200
applications online supported by F5
technology, including email services,
reservation systems and enterprise
resource planning (ERP) and Electronic
Flight Bag, eEnablement setup for newly
introduced aircrafts.
“We made a strategic decision to partner
with F5 because they are consistently
ranked as one of the top leaders in
enterprise security,” said Dr Haji.
“F5 has also successfully provisioned
crucial services to our users and
customers in an efficient and secure
manner for the past eight years. We
are now proud to announce that we
can protect the Gulf Air network from
possible threats that are initiated
from legitimate secure traffic based
on behaviour, rather than relying on
traditional security measures.”
Taj El Khayat, Gulf, Levant and North
Africa Director, F5 Networks, said:
“We are extremely proud of our
long-standing relationship with Gulf
Air, which is a case in point for how
forward-looking, app-centric planning
– combined with robust business
objectives – can yield genuinely
transformational results. F5 DDoS
Hybrid Defender is not simply a
collection of security point products but
a tightly integrated system to defend
against today’s most damaging DDoS
attacks. We are delighted that it is
already proving its operational value.” n
www.intelligentcio.com
Gulf Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Maher Salman Al Musallam (second
from left) celebrates the achievement of Tier Three standard compliance
in the carrier’s data centre in the presence of Dr Jassim Haji (centre),
Director Information Technology, Gulf Air, and others
G
ulf Air has celebrated its newly
renovated IT data centre
achieving Tier Three standard
compliance classification.
As part of the celebration, its Chief
Executive Officer Maher Salman Al
Musallam visited the IT data centre,
formally inaugurating the upgraded
facility which allows the airline to
ensure that their hosted mission-
critical services are continuously
available. Al Musallam said: “Gulf
Air’s business relies heavily on the
reliability, availability and stability
of its IT services, and as a result,
upgrading our IT Data Centre was a
priority for the airline. I’m delighted
with what we have achieved.”
Dr Jassim Haji, Gulf Air Director
Information Technology, said: “Gulf
Air has renovated its IT data centre
to satisfy the requirements and
comply with the world renowned Tier
Three standard and achieving this
classification confirms our compliance
with best practice and standards
as we continually strive to improve
the airline’s business sustainability,
continuity and commitments.”
Gulf Air’s state-of-the-art, energy
efficient data centre at the airline’s
headquarters is also one of the most
environmentally friendly IT centres
in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The
national carrier’s Data Centre Tier
Three compliance fits into a wider
digital transformation vision that was
recently underscored by becoming
the world’s first airline to achieve
seven ISO certifications in Information
Technology earlier this year. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
49