Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
AWSRun your workloads on cloud infrastructure you do not have to own
Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides computing, storage, databases, networking, security and AI services on demand, with most services billed for what you use. It has Regions in Bahrain and the UAE.
- Pay as you go
- Most services billed for use, with no long-term contract required
- Bahrain Region
- Middle East (Bahrain), me-south-1, alongside Middle East (UAE)
- Shared responsibility
- AWS secures the cloud; you secure what you run in it
Problems organisations bring to AWS
Moving to AWS solves some problems and changes others. The right-hand column says what AWS provides; the work of configuring it stays with you.
| Topic | What it can lead to | How AWS helps |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware refresh and capacity planning | What it can lead to: Large up-front purchases, and servers that are either idle or out of capacity. | How AWS helps: Capacity is provisioned on demand and billed for use, with Savings Plans for steady workloads. |
| Slow provisioning | What it can lead to: New projects wait weeks for infrastructure. | How AWS helps: Compute, storage and databases can be created in minutes and defined as code. |
| Unclear security responsibilities | What it can lead to: Teams assume the provider handles controls that are actually theirs, leaving gaps. | How AWS helps: The shared responsibility model sets out what AWS secures and what you must configure, service by service. |
| Broad permissions across many accounts | What it can lead to: One compromised identity can reach far more than it should. | How AWS helps: AWS IAM, IAM Identity Center and AWS Organizations manage identities, workforce access and account structure centrally. |
| No record of who changed what | What it can lead to: Incidents are hard to investigate and audits lack evidence. | How AWS helps: AWS CloudTrail records user activity and API calls for governance, compliance and auditing. |
| Backups spread across tools | What it can lead to: Inconsistent retention and untested recovery. | How AWS helps: AWS Backup applies policy-based backup across AWS services and hybrid environments. |
What AWS does
AWS offers hundreds of services. These are the building blocks most organisations start with when they secure and run workloads.
Compute, storage and databases
Virtual servers such as Amazon EC2, object storage such as Amazon S3, and managed databases such as Amazon DynamoDB, created on demand.
Regions you choose
Your resources in one Region are independent of other Regions, so you decide where data and workloads live, including Middle East (Bahrain).
Identity and account structure
IAM manages access to services and resources; IAM Identity Center manages workforce access across accounts; AWS Organizations manages accounts as you grow.
Threat detection and posture
Amazon GuardDuty detects threats to AWS accounts; AWS Security Hub centralises security alerts, ranks critical risks and automates responses.
Activity logging
AWS CloudTrail records user activity and API calls across AWS and hybrid environments to support governance and auditing.
Well-Architected reviews
The AWS Well-Architected Framework and its free tool assess workloads against six pillars: operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimisation and sustainability.
Who secures what on AWS
The most common cloud security mistake is assuming the provider covers something it does not. This is how AWS describes the split.
| Topic | AWS is responsible for | You are responsible for |
|---|---|---|
| Physical infrastructure | AWS is responsible for: Data centres, hardware, networking and facilities that run AWS services. | You are responsible for: Nothing at this layer. |
| Infrastructure services such as Amazon EC2 | AWS is responsible for: The host operating system and virtualisation layer. | You are responsible for: The guest operating system and its patches, installed applications and security group firewall settings. |
| Abstracted services such as Amazon S3 and DynamoDB | AWS is responsible for: The infrastructure, operating system and platform. | You are responsible for: Your data, encryption options, asset classification and IAM permissions. |
| Patching | AWS is responsible for: AWS’s own infrastructure. | You are responsible for: Guest operating systems and applications. |
| Training | AWS is responsible for: AWS staff. | You are responsible for: Your own staff. |
AWS notes that the exact split depends on the services, Regions and laws that apply to each workload.
Before you move a workload to AWS
A short readiness check that applies to any first AWS workload. Tick what is already in place: nothing you select is saved or sent.
How VirtuThinko helps you adopt AWS
- 01
Requirements
We can help you define what you need AWS to do, which systems are in scope and what a good result looks like.
- 02
Demo or proof of concept
We can help you build a small pilot or landing zone to test the workload, costs and controls before committing.
- 03
Design and deployment
We can help design the account structure, network, identity and logging, and migrate or build the workload.
- 04
Tuning and handover
We can help you adjust settings to your environment, document the configuration and hand over to your team.
- 05
Ongoing support
Where you want it, we can help with day-to-day administration, reviews and changes as your environment grows.
Yes. Middle East (Bahrain), code me-south-1, is an AWS Region. AWS also runs Middle East (UAE), me-central-1, and has announced a Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; check its current status with AWS.
Partly. Under the shared responsibility model, AWS secures the infrastructure that runs its services, and you secure what you put on it: operating systems, applications, data, encryption choices and permissions.
Most services are pay-as-you-go with no long-term contract. Savings Plans lower prices in return for a one- or three-year usage commitment, and the AWS Pricing Calculator estimates your monthly bill.
No. Service availability varies by Region, and AWS publishes a Region table listing which services each Region offers.
A set of design principles and best practices across six pillars. The Well-Architected Tool in the AWS console is free and helps you review a workload and track improvements.
Not on its own. AWS supplies controls for its part of the shared responsibility model, but meeting a regulation also depends on how you configure and operate your workloads.
Explore AWS for your organisation
Tell us which workloads you are considering, where your data must stay, and what you want to improve. A member of our team will contact you to arrange an initial conversation.