Cloudflare, Inc., the connectivity cloud company, is advancing its aggressive investment plans in the Middle East to further expand its commitment to the region that has existed for almost ten years. The investment includes a new office in Dubai Internet City and a growing team focused on driving partners, innovation and customer success.
The company first invested in the Middle East in early 2015 and has strategically positioned its infrastructure closer to users in the region while expanding its team, partnerships and operations. Cloudflare announced its first office in the Middle East almost two years ago.
Also today, Cloudflare officially opened a new office in Dubai Internet City, which featured a ribbon cutting and remarks from Michelle Zatlyn, Cloudflare’s co-founder, president and chief operating officer. Cloudflare’s Dubai-based team, led by Bashar Bashaireh, Head of Middle East Sales, continues to grow in the region, underscoring the company’s continued commitment to its customers and partners.
“Countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are among the world leaders in internet access, making the region a strong source of growth and innovation,” said Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder, president and COO of Cloudflare. “Better protection against cyberattacks combined with faster, more reliable internet is the key to unlocking continued growth for businesses. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Cloudflare blocked an average of 9.5 billion cyber threats per day in the region – another example of its important role “We play a role in protecting the internet worldwide. With our leading cloud connectivity services, our growing team in the Middle East is committed to supporting our customers and deepening our local partnerships.”
Cloudflare protects almost 20% of all websites. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Cloudflare saw Internet usage in the Middle East increase by more than 20%, while cyber threats increased by 31% compared to the previous quarter. Cloudflare identifies and defuses attacks throughout the Middle East and helps ensure that these Internet offerings remain accessible and function quickly even during attacks.
Today, Cloudflare’s global network spans more than 310 cities in more than 120 countries, including 17 locations in the Middle East such as Dubai, Riyadh, Kuwait, Doha, Amman, Beirut, Baghdad, Jeddah, Muscat, Manama and Erbil. The company built the first data centers in the Middle East almost a decade ago and continues to expand its long-standing network investments in the region.
Accelerating channel-driven business is also part of Cloudflare’s growth and expansion strategy in the Middle East. Last year, Mindware, a leading regional value-added distributor, announced a strategic partnership with Cloudflare to provide sales support, go-to-market programs and after-sales services. Cloudflare is also increasingly collaborating with service providers and global partners.
“The pace of digital transformation has accelerated rapidly in recent years, largely due to the need for organizations to create a hybrid workplace. Accordingly, the number of cyber threats has increased and reached an extremely high level of sophistication. In response to the “Mindware has continued to improve its cybersecurity capabilities to meet the needs of our partners and their customers,” said Nicholas Argyrides, Vice President – Gulf at Mindware. “Today, Mindware is one of the leading value added distributors in cybersecurity in the Middle East and we are very pleased to have a fruitful collaboration with an industry leader like Cloudflare in such a dynamic market.”
Over the past two years, the company has invested heavily in recruiting the best talent in the region, including in sales and marketing, technical support, operations and channel. Due to the momentum and demand in the region, Cloudflare expects to more than double its headcount in the region over the next two years.
“The Middle East region, characterized by fast-growing and innovation-driven economies driven by the trend towards digital transformation, represents enormous growth potential for Cloudflare. Cloud usage has also gained momentum in the region in recent years “With the necessary regulatory framework and compliance guidelines now in place to take companies into the next phase of digital transformation,” said Bashar Bashaireh, Middle East sales lead at Cloudflare. “Cloudflare’s connectivity cloud strategy provides enterprises with a unified platform for network, security and developer services.”
To support its growing customer base, Cloudflare has team members across the region and aims to double the number of employees in the next few years with virtual and hybrid work environments.
