Etisalat’s new state-of-the-art data centre in Jebel Ali has welcomed its first customer, with leading UAE bank Al Hilal Bank signing an agreement to host their disaster recovery functions at the facility. The signing with Al Hilal Bank confirms Etisalat’s status as a key strategic provider of information and communications technology (ICT) in the region. Its capabilities have been significantly increased through the Dhs400 million data center in Jebel Ali, which is the largest data centre of its type in the ME. Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, SVP, Business Solutions at Etisalat, said that the agreement with Al Hilal Bank demonstrates that the biggest companies in the UAE trust and rely on Etisalat to provide their critical ICT services. “Al Hilal Bank is one of the fastest emerging banks in the UAE. We are delighted to have them as the launch customer for our brand new data centre. ICT is a major growth area for Etisalat, which is demonstrated by our commitment to this new facility in Jebel Ali. We are confirming our market-leading position as a full ICT provider for the business sector,” said Al Ahmed. Saif Al Dhaheri, Executive Vice President at Al Hilal Bank, said that their trust and confidence in Etisalat’s vast experience in managing and running nine data centres in UAE including the new Data Center facility in Jebel Ali was a key reason for the decision to sign up with Etisalat. Ghazi Qarout, Senior Vice President, Head of Information Technology at Al Hilal Bank said: “We have concluded that Etisalat offers us an advanced infrastructure that allows for efficiently undertaking the disaster recovery aspect of our Business Continuity Plan.” From gulftoday