Lightspeed Communications launches innovative IT solutions for first time in Bahrain

The datacentre - driven by technology provided by Gulf Business Machines (GBM) - is the first to enable financial institutions and others to securely host their mission-critical systems.

Following global regulatory trends such as the Sarbanese-Oxley Act and the Basel II Accord, the Bahrain Monetary Agency has issued guidelines for financial institutions in the country to meet tight standards for business continuity. To address this need, Lightspeed Communications have created an outsourcing model to assist organizations to meet these tight standards.

According to Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al-Khalifa, Managing Director of LSC, the launch of iVault, represents a significant step forward in allowing organizations to economically meet their business continuity needs.

"We began this project to set up a premium datacentre last year, and we wanted to appoint a technology solutions provider who could meet our own stringent requirements - Gulf Business Machines/IBM was a natural choice", said Shaikh Abdulla.

Initially iVault is offering a flexible, future-proof datacentre to organizations both large and small. Offering everything from instant-access single racks to custom-built dedicated business suites, iVault combines complete security and control with optimum business performance and value. Later in the year, options will extend to services such as portal hosting and content delivery and remote management services as well as cross-border disaster recovery facility services.

Lightspeed Communications is also planning to offer its services regionally, meaning that organisations in other GCC countries will be able to avail of these services to secure their data.

With the launch of iVault, Lightspeed Communications stands to become the first telecommunications operator with the most advanced business continuity planning in Bahrain. Later this year, Lightspeed Communications will launch online or 'live' connections, through which organisations requiring the highest level of resilience can continue their business uninterrupted.

"We are proud to be associated with LSC in this project, which is another demonstration of Bahrain's leading position in IT in the region." said Abdulla Ishaq, General Manager of Bahrain Business Machines (BBM), GBM operation in Bahrain.