Disaster Recovery (DRaaS) UAEZerto, Azure Site Recovery & AWS DRS

Name: Artiflex IT
Address: AE

Zerto, Azure Site Recovery, AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery, Veeam DR, VMware SRM, Acronis. Continuous replication, minutes to recovery, no second physical datacenter required.

Per-workload RPO and RTO targets, continuous block-level replication, pilot light / warm standby / active-active patterns, orchestrated failover, automated network re-IP, failback orchestration, and quarterly failover testing as a contractual deliverable. Aligned to NESA, ISO 22301, NCA ECC, ADHICS, CBUAE, SAMA, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS and PDPL.

Compare DRaaS Vendors Read Evolution Story

DRaaS Platforms

Six DR platforms we deliver, picked workload-by-workload

Zerto, Azure Site Recovery, AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery, Veeam DR, VMware Cloud DR, Acronis. Right RPO, right target, right cost.

Zerto

Zerto (HPE)

Continuous Replication & Cyber-Resilient DR

Recommendation #1 for Tier-1 RPO < 1 Minute

Zerto's Continuous Data Protection delivers seconds-level RPO and minutes-level RTO, the tightest in the DRaaS market. Block-level replication independent of the underlying hypervisor or cloud, with native ransomware-resilience (immutable journal, anomaly detection, instant rewind to a clean point). Acquired by HPE in 2021. Single platform for migration + DR + ransomware recovery. Strong fit for tier-1 banking, healthcare and trading workloads.

Watch

Premium pricing relative to native cloud DR. Best where seconds-level RPO is a contractual or regulatory requirement.

ASR

Azure Site Recovery (ASR)

Native DR to Microsoft Azure

Recommendation #1 for Azure-Bound DR

Microsoft's native disaster recovery-as-a-service. Replicates VMware, Hyper-V, physical servers and Azure VMs into a secondary Azure region with continuous block-level replication. RPO of 30 seconds for Hyper-V and ~5 minutes for VMware. Orchestrated failover with one-click execution, recovery plans, and automated DNS / network failover. Pay only for the replicated storage during steady state; full compute cost only at failover.

Watch

Azure-only target. Best for organisations standardised on Azure or with Azure as the chosen DR target. Typical RTO under 1 hour for tier-1.

Veeam DR

Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator

Backup + DR in One Platform

Best for Veeam-Centric Estates

Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator extends Veeam Data Platform with full DR orchestration: failover plans, automated network re-IP, health checks, and audit-ready DR reports. Most cost-effective DRaaS where Veeam is already the backup platform. Strong fit for VMware and Hyper-V hybrid estates. Replicate to a Veeam Cloud Connect partner, to Azure, AWS, or to a customer-owned secondary site.

Watch

RPO is tied to backup frequency (typically 15 minutes to 1 hour); for sub-minute RPO use Zerto. Best where backup and DR sit on the same platform.

VMware SRM

VMware Site Recovery & VMC DR

vSphere-Native DR to VMware Cloud

Best for VMware-Heavy Estates

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) automates failover between vSphere sites, and VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery (VCDR) extends it as a SaaS DR target on AWS or Azure VMware Solution. Native vMotion-style failover, no application refactoring, and hot DR with the same vCenter operating model. Strong fit for VMware-heavy estates that want vSphere-consistent DR without a second physical site.

Watch

Requires VMware on both sides. Premium pricing. Best as part of a long-term VMware strategy, not a transitional choice.

AWS DRS

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS)

Native DR to AWS

Recommendation #1 for AWS-Bound DR

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (formerly CloudEndure DR) provides continuous block-level replication into a low-cost staging area in AWS. RPO of seconds, RTO of minutes. Pay only for the staging storage during steady state; full compute cost only at failover. Strong fit for organisations standardised on AWS or with AWS as the chosen DR target.

Watch

AWS-only target. Best when AWS is the chosen DR destination.

Acronis DR

Acronis DRaaS

Mid-Market DRaaS

Best for Mid-Market Single-Vendor DR

Acronis DRaaS extends Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud with full disaster recovery: replicate VMs to Acronis Cloud or a partner cloud, automate failover, and recover into a managed cloud environment within minutes. Strong fit for mid-market customers who want backup + DR + endpoint protection from one vendor.

Watch

Smaller cloud target options than the hyperscaler-native or Zerto offerings. Best where simplicity and single-vendor consolidation matter most.

What We Deliver

DRaaS, delivered end-to-end

From per-workload RPO / RTO targets through continuous replication, orchestrated failover, failback and quarterly tested recovery.

Per-Workload RPO and RTO Targets

Tier-1 typically 15-min RPO / 1-hour RTO, tier-2 typically 1-hour / 4-hour. Defined per workload, signed off as part of the DR plan.

Continuous Block-Level Replication

Pilot Light, Warm Standby or Active-Active

Orchestrated Failover

Failback Orchestration

Quarterly Failover Testing

Decision Guide

Which DRaaS platform fits your scenario

Scenario	Our recommendation
Tier-1 banking, trading, healthcare with seconds-level RPO requirement	Zerto (HPE) Continuous Data Protection
Microsoft / VMware / Hyper-V estate bound for Azure as DR target	Azure Site Recovery + Veeam DR Orchestrator
AWS-native or AWS-target environment	AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (formerly CloudEndure DR)
VMware-heavy estate wanting vSphere-consistent DR	VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery (VCDR) on AWS or AVS
Veeam already deployed for backup; want unified backup + DR	Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator + Veeam Cloud Connect partner
Mid-market wanting backup + DR + endpoint security from one vendor	Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud + Acronis DRaaS

Comparison

Zerto vs Azure Site Recovery vs AWS DRS vs VMware Cloud DR

Dimension	Zerto	ASR	AWS DRS	VMware Cloud DR
Best target	Any (cloud-agnostic)	Microsoft Azure	AWS	VMware-on-cloud
Typical RPO	Seconds	30 sec to 5 min	Seconds	Minutes
Typical RTO	Minutes	Under 1 hour	Minutes	Under 1 hour
Source support	VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure, physical	VMware, Hyper-V, physical, Azure	Any (incl. AWS / Azure)	vSphere only
Best for	Tier-1, ransomware-hardened	Azure-bound DR	AWS-bound DR	VMware estates

DRaaS Advantages

Eight reasons modern DRaaS beats legacy DR

No second datacenter, pay-only-at-failover economics, minutes-to-recovery, quarterly tested. The structural advantages cloud DR delivers.

No Second Datacenter

Replicate to public cloud as the DR target. Eliminate the cost of building, powering and operating a second physical site.

Pay Only at Failover

Steady-state cost is just the replicated storage. Full compute spending starts only when DR is actually invoked.

Minutes Not Days

Tier-1 workloads recovered in minutes, not the days that tape-based DR took. RPO measured in seconds for Zerto and AWS DRS.

Quarterly Tested

Failover tested every quarter under contract, not best-effort. Documented evidence for NESA, ISO 22301, ADHICS and SAMA auditors.

Ransomware-Resilient

Zerto's immutable journal lets you rewind to a clean recovery point seconds before the encryption began. The classic 'undo button' for ransomware.

Real Compliance Evidence

NESA, ISO 22301, ADHICS, NCA ECC, CBUAE and SAMA all require formal DR with tested recovery. Pre-built evidence cuts audit-prep effort by 60-80%.

Application-Aware

Database log shipping, mail-server quiescing and multi-tier app sequencing all built into the failover plan.

Single Operating Model

Same managed services partner runs backup, BaaS, DRaaS and cloud operations. One accountable team across the whole resilience stack.

Downtime Has Repercussions Across the Board

Whether it is due to cyberattack, hardware failure, or a natural disaster, businesses today cannot afford to respond late. Businesses today require reliable disaster recovery solutions in Dubai to ensure operations continue without disruption during unexpected incidents.

Recovery should happen proactively, before the situation worsens. Late recovery will cost you far more than you think.

At Artiflex, we develop practical, proven disaster recovery infrastructure, built around automated backup processes, failover, real-time replication, and quick restoration. In other words, we help get your operations back up in minutes, not hours.

Instant system recovery
Zero data loss architecture
Cloud + hybrid resilience
Continuous availability

Business continuity & disaster recovery infrastructure

How Late Response Hurts You More Than You Think

Most businesses underestimate the consequences of downtime. Sure, you'll lose some transactions. You will also deal with the fallout from the payroll being stalled, the supply chain breaking down, customers not being able to access their information, and the support team answering phone calls without answers. What's worse, regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, or logistics must also consider the additional cost of compliance breaches.

The real cost of downtime

Studies show that a just a few hour of unplanned downtime can cost organizations anywhere between $5,600 to $300,000, depending on their industry and size. Small and medium businesses suffer from it even more. One-hour downtime could effectively slow down operations for a week.

Operational ripple effects

Stalled payroll, broken supply chains, and unreachable customer data cascade into long-term productivity loss.

A leadership decision

Disaster recovery isn't an IT checkbox. It's a business continuity decision that starts at the leadership level.

Process

Lifecycle Approach To How Recovery Happens

We understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to identifying the right solutions. Every business operates in a different environment, with varying levels of risk exposure and tolerance for downtime. That is why we follow a structured lifecycle approach to design disaster recovery strategies tailored to your unique business requirements.

Assessment & Risk Analysis

We identify your critical systems, point out potential areas of failure and dependency on third parties, analyze backup capabilities and risks that might affect the process - whether it be cyber threats, natural hardware deterioration, or human mistakes.

Strategy & Planning

We agree upon realistic RTO and RPO goals that align with your organizational capabilities. While some businesses have their annual disaster recovery test only once a year, it's never been more important to prepare for the unexpected and many don't learn until it's too late.

Solution Design

Based on the results of the analysis above, we design an optimal combination of backup solutions and technology for replication and failovers, considering your current infrastructure, whether it's cloud-based, on-premises, or mixed.

Implementation & Deployment

The implementation and deployment of automated backups, replication pipelines, and failover solutions occur in a way that minimizes disruptions. The entire system undergoes testing while being implemented into your network infrastructure.

Testing & Validation

Failover triggers will be rigorously tested for resilience, data backups will be verified for their integrity, and a simulated attack by ransomware will take place. These results will show the recovery time. If the recovery time fails the required threshold, the issue will be remedied before it happens.

Monitoring & Optimization

Continuous tracking of backups in real-time. Immediate identification of anomalies. Continuous optimization of the entire system based on its usage patterns. Active management is needed for DR processes.

Recovery & Continuity

During an incident, a failover process will activate automatically. It entails switching over to a redundant environment in less than 60 seconds.

Deep Insights

Modern Disaster Recovery

Why Disaster Recovery Matters

Downtime affects revenue, trust, and operations. A strong DR strategy ensures continuity even during cyberattacks, outages, or system failures.

Recovery Models

Cloud, on-premise, and hybrid recovery models provide flexibility, scalability, and control based on business needs.

RTO & RPO Strategy

Define how fast systems recover (RTO) and how much data loss is acceptable (RPO) to align with business risk tolerance.

AI-Powered Resilience

Leverage predictive analytics and automation to detect failures early and trigger intelligent recovery workflows.

Immutable Backups

Protect against ransomware with tamper-proof backups that cannot be altered or deleted.

Geo-Redundant Infrastructure

Distribute workloads across multiple regions to ensure availability even during large-scale outages.

UAE Compliance

NESA, ISO 22301, ADHICS, NCA ECC, CBUAE, SAMA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001 and PDPL aligned

All major UAE / GCC compliance regimes require formal disaster recovery with defined RPO / RTO per workload, regular failover testing and auditable evidence. We design DRaaS deployments with NESA Levels 3-4, ISO 22301, ADHICS, NCA ECC, CBUAE, SAMA, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS and PDPL controls baked in. Pre-built compliance evidence cuts audit-prep effort by 60-80%.

NESA Levels 3-4ISO 22301NCA ECCADHICSCBUAESAMAISO 27001PCI-DSSUAE PDPL

FAQ

Disaster recovery questions UAE buyers ask

The questions we hear most often from UAE businesses evaluating DRaaS.

Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) protects data with periodic backups (typically RPO 4-24 hours, RTO 1-8 hours) and is designed for restoring files, mailboxes or VMs. Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) provides continuous replication with sub-minute RPO and sub-hour RTO, designed for full-site failover. Most enterprises run both: BaaS for everything, DRaaS for tier-1 workloads where downtime is unacceptable.

It depends on the RPO target and the DR destination. Zerto wins for tier-1 sub-minute RPO and ransomware-resilience. Azure Site Recovery is the right answer when Azure is the DR target. AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery is the right answer for AWS. Veeam DR Orchestrator is the right answer for Veeam-centric estates. VMware Cloud DR fits VMware-heavy. Acronis fits mid-market single-vendor consolidation.

Tier-1 workloads typically deliver 15-minute RPO and 1-hour RTO under standard DRaaS, or seconds-level RPO and minutes-level RTO under Zerto / AWS DRS continuous replication. Tier-2 workloads typically run 1-hour RPO and 4-hour RTO. We define RPO / RTO per workload in the DR design and sign it off contractually.

No. The whole point of DRaaS is to use a public cloud region as the DR target instead of a second physical site. This eliminates the cost of building, powering, cooling and operating a second datacenter while still delivering full failover capability. We design DRaaS with cloud as the target for nearly every UAE customer.

Quarterly, as a contractual deliverable. Failover testing is the difference between a DR plan that exists on paper and one that actually works. We schedule the test, execute it on a non-production failover, document the results, and provide auditor-ready evidence. Most customers we audit have never tested a failover before working with us.

All major UAE / GCC compliance regimes require formal DR with documented procedures, defined RPO / RTO per workload, regular testing and evidence. We design DRaaS deployments with NESA Levels 3-4, ISO 22301, ADHICS, NCA ECC, CBUAE and SAMA controls baked in. Pre-built compliance evidence cuts audit-prep effort by 60-80%.

Yes, especially with Zerto's Continuous Data Protection or with immutable backup tiers. Zerto's journal lets you rewind to a clean recovery point seconds before the encryption began. AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery delivers a similar capability through point-in-time recovery. Combined with immutable backup (see [Backup-as-a-Service](/cloud-solutions/backup-as-a-service)), this is the strongest defence the industry has against ransomware.

DRaaS pricing is per-workload subscription, with steady-state cost being just the replicated storage (typically 20-40% of full cloud compute cost). Full compute cost is only incurred during actual failover or testing windows. For most UAE mid-sized estates (30-100 servers), tier-1 DRaaS lands in the AED 5,000 to 25,000 per month range, depending on RPO target and vendor.

Disaster recovery in minutes, not days.

Zerto, Azure Site Recovery, AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery, Veeam DR Orchestrator, VMware Cloud DR and Acronis DRaaS for UAE enterprises. Continuous replication, no second physical datacenter, quarterly failover testing under SLA.