Protection licence
- What drives it
- Number of servers or VMs replicated
DRaaS · Azure Site Recovery · Acronis Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery as a service
We keep a standby copy of your critical servers in the cloud, write the runbook to switch over, and test it with you, so a ransomware attack or a dead server room costs hours, not weeks.
Why Gulf Infotech
Why businesses across the Middle East plan disaster recovery with us
Vendor-neutral
we work with Microsoft Azure, Acronis and Veeam, so the DR design follows your servers and rules.
Since 2007
with 1,500+ active cloud customers across the Middle East.
Offices in Muscat (head office), Dubai and Doha
with local billing; setup, testing and support are delivered remotely, in English and Arabic.
350,000+ users migrated
DR platforms we set up
Microsoft Azure- Azure Site Recovery
Acronis- Acronis Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery · start here
Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) keeps replicated copies of your servers in a cloud data centre, ready to start if your main site fails. Gulf Infotech, serving businesses across the Middle East since 2007 from Dubai, Muscat and Doha, sets up DRaaS on Azure Site Recovery, including the UAE and Qatar regions, and on Acronis Disaster Recovery, then tests failover with you.
Disaster recovery · At a glance
What does DRaaS protect, and on which platform?
DRaaS protects the servers the business cannot run without: ERP and accounting, file servers, line-of-business databases, domain controllers and key web apps. Laptops and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data are covered by backup instead.
| Azure Site Recovery | Acronis Disaster Recovery | Veeam replication to a second site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it replicates | Azure VMs, VMware and Hyper-V VMs, Windows and Linux physical servers | Physical servers, VMware and Hyper-V VMs, cloud VMs | VMware, Hyper-V and other VMs to your own standby hardware |
| How often | Continuous for Azure and VMware VMs; as low as every 30 seconds for Hyper-V | Based on backups and RPO thresholds you set | Based on the replication schedule |
| Where the standby runs | Azure regions, including UAE North (Dubai) and Qatar Central (Doha) | Acronis cloud data centres; Acronis opened one in Abu Dhabi in April 2024 | Your second office, rack or partner data centre |
| Failover | Recovery plans that start servers in order, then fail back | Runbooks with ordered steps and checks; VPN to the recovery site | Failover to replicas, Instant Recovery from backups |
| Testing | DR drills without stopping replication | Isolated test failovers, schedulable weekly or monthly | Test in an isolated virtual lab |
| Fits | Companies on Azure or planning to move there | Companies already on Acronis backup | Firms with their own second site |
What it replicates
- Azure Site Recovery
- Azure VMs, VMware and Hyper-V VMs, Windows and Linux physical servers
- Acronis Disaster Recovery
- Physical servers, VMware and Hyper-V VMs, cloud VMs
- Veeam replication to a second site
- VMware, Hyper-V and other VMs to your own standby hardware
How often
- Azure Site Recovery
- Continuous for Azure and VMware VMs; as low as every 30 seconds for Hyper-V
- Acronis Disaster Recovery
- Based on backups and RPO thresholds you set
- Veeam replication to a second site
- Based on the replication schedule
Where the standby runs
- Azure Site Recovery
- Azure regions, including UAE North (Dubai) and Qatar Central (Doha)
- Acronis Disaster Recovery
- Acronis cloud data centres; Acronis opened one in Abu Dhabi in April 2024
- Veeam replication to a second site
- Your second office, rack or partner data centre
Failover
- Azure Site Recovery
- Recovery plans that start servers in order, then fail back
- Acronis Disaster Recovery
- Runbooks with ordered steps and checks; VPN to the recovery site
- Veeam replication to a second site
- Failover to replicas, Instant Recovery from backups
Testing
- Azure Site Recovery
- DR drills without stopping replication
- Acronis Disaster Recovery
- Isolated test failovers, schedulable weekly or monthly
- Veeam replication to a second site
- Test in an isolated virtual lab
Fits
- Azure Site Recovery
- Companies on Azure or planning to move there
- Acronis Disaster Recovery
- Companies already on Acronis backup
- Veeam replication to a second site
- Firms with their own second site
Capabilities from Microsoft, Acronis and Veeam documentation, October 2026.
Disaster recovery · Explained
What RPO and RTO can DRaaS give you?
DRaaS can bring RPO down to minutes or less and RTO to minutes or hours, depending on the platform and how well the runbook is tested. RPO is how much data you can afford to lose; RTO is how long a system can be down. Azure Site Recovery replicates continuously for Azure and VMware VMs, so RPO is usually measured in minutes. Acronis DR follows your backup schedule. Neither vendor guarantees an RTO; Acronis says timing depends on the tested configuration. We agree RPO and RTO per server with you and record them in the DR plan. For backup retention and the 3-2-1 rule, see backup and disaster recovery.
Disaster recovery · Explained
Where is the DR copy stored? Can it stay in-country?
In the UAE and Qatar, yes: Azure has UAE North in Dubai and Qatar Central in Doha, and Acronis runs a data centre in Abu Dhabi, where we can place your Acronis standby copies. UAE Central in Abu Dhabi is a restricted Azure region that Microsoft opens on request for scenarios such as disaster recovery. Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have no Azure region today, so companies there either replicate to a UAE or Qatar region or keep the standby copy on their own hardware in a second location. If a regulator requires data to stay in your country, see in-country cloud hosting and data residency.
Step by step
How do you know the DR plan will work?
You test it. An untested DR plan is a guess. Our routine:
Agree targets
RPO and RTO per server, and the order servers must start in.
Write the runbook
who declares a disaster, failover steps, DNS and network changes, how users connect, and how to fail back.
Test failover
start the standby servers in an isolated network, check that applications open and data is current, then shut them down without touching production.
Record results
actual recovery time, issues found and fixes.
Repeat
on a schedule you agree, and after any major change such as a new ERP version.
Disaster recovery · Explained
Is DRaaS protected against ransomware?
DRaaS helps, but replication alone is not enough. If ransomware encrypts a server, continuous replication can copy the damage within minutes. You need older recovery points to fail over to, plus backup copies that cannot be changed or deleted. We pair DR with immutable backups, such as Acronis immutable storage or a Veeam hardened Linux repository, and keep DR admin accounts separate from your normal domain admins. See server and VM backup.
Disaster recovery · Licensing and pricing
How is DRaaS priced?
DRaaS is priced on three things: the number of servers protected, the storage their replicas and recovery points use, and the compute that runs when you fail over or test. We quote per customer after sizing.
Storage
- What drives it
- Size of the servers, number of recovery points, retention
Standby compute
- What drives it
- Charged mainly while servers run during a test or real failover
Network
- What drives it
- VPN, public IP addresses, bandwidth
Services
- What drives it
- Setup, runbook, scheduled tests, monitoring
Not sure which plan fits?
Tell us your team size and how you work, and we will recommend a plan and quote it in your currency.
Prices as of October 2026 · quoted per customer · exclude VAT where it applies (Oman and UAE 5%, Saudi Arabia 15%, Bahrain 10%, Qatar and Kuwait none).
Licences are one component: deployment and security configuration, migration, training and support are separate, paid components, quoted for your requirement.
Across the Middle East
Disaster recovery in your country
Disaster recovery · FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost?
DRaaS cost depends on how many servers you protect, how much storage their replicas use and how long standby servers run during tests and real failovers. Compute is charged mainly while the standby servers are running, so a quiet month costs far less than a disaster month. We size your servers, agree RPO and RTO, and quote per customer, excluding VAT.
Where is the backup stored?
The DR copy sits in a cloud data centre you choose. In the UAE and Qatar, Azure regions in Dubai and Doha and the Acronis data centre in Abu Dhabi keep it in-country. Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have no Azure region today, so companies there replicate to the UAE or Qatar, or to their own second site when regulations require in-country storage.
How fast can we restore?
With a tested runbook, critical servers typically restart in the cloud within minutes to a few hours of declaring a disaster. Azure Site Recovery replicates continuously for Azure and VMware VMs, so very little data is lost. Neither Microsoft nor Acronis guarantees a recovery time; it depends on server size, network changes and testing. We measure your actual RTO in each test.
Is it protected against ransomware?
Partly. Replication can copy encrypted data to the standby site within minutes, so DRaaS must be paired with older recovery points and immutable backups that attackers cannot delete. We keep at least one copy that cannot be changed for a set period, separate DR admin accounts from your domain admins, and restore from a clean point identified before failover.
What is the difference between backup and DRaaS?
Backup keeps copies of data so you can restore files or rebuild a server, which can take hours or days. DRaaS keeps a ready-to-start replica of the server in a cloud data centre with a written failover plan, so the business can run from there within minutes or hours. Most companies need backup for everything and DRaaS for a few critical servers.
Do we need a DR site if we are already in the cloud?
Usually yes, for critical systems. A cloud region can have an outage, and ransomware or a bad admin action affects cloud servers too. Azure Site Recovery can replicate Azure VMs from one region to another, for example from UAE North to another region you choose. We weigh the cost against how long you can be without each system.
Find out how long you would be down today
Tell us which servers run your business. We will map your current recovery time and propose a DR design and test plan.
Talk to us during office hours