Dubai Case Study: High-Availability Infrastructure for a Multi-Branch Retailer (2025)
Scenario-based case study reflecting common Dubai retail IT environments. All details anonymized.
At a Glance
Industry: Retail (Multi-Branch)
Locations: 11 (Business Bay HQ + Deira, Karama, Al Barsha, Dubai Marina, JLT)
Users / Endpoints: 95 (30 POS, 40 back-office PCs, 25 handheld/mobile)
IT Model: Proactive Managed IT with SD-WAN
Primary Goal: 99.9% POS uptime across all branches
Security Upgrade: MFA, SSO, EDR
Connectivity: Dual-WAN (Fiber + 5G failover)
Proof Pack (Before vs After)
| Metric | Traditional AMC (Before) | Managed IT (After) |
|---|---|---|
| POS Downtime (Monthly Avg) | 14.5 hours | < 10 minutes |
| Critical Incidents (P1) | 12 / month | 1 / month |
| Mean Time to Resolve (MTTR) | 6.2 hours | 38 minutes |
| Patch Compliance | 22% | 100% |
| Security Model | Password + legacy AV | MFA + SSO + EDR |
| Network Uptime | 96.4% | 99.96% |
| Store Opening Disruptions | 4 / month | 0 |
Client Overview
The client is a Dubai-based retail group operating 10 customer-facing branches and a central head office in Business Bay. Daily operations depend on a cloud-connected POS platform integrated with a centralized ERP system for inventory and accounting.
Under their previous IT AMC, each branch ran independently with inconsistent hardware and no central monitoring. When outages occurred, head office visibility was limited, and issues were often discovered only after store managers escalated incidents manually.
The tipping point came when a localized ISP outage in Al Barsha during a weekend promotion caused over six hours of downtime. Remote remediation was not possible, and onsite support was delayed due to traffic congestion—resulting in direct revenue loss.
Common IT Failures Under Traditional IT AMC in Dubai
- Reactive, onsite-only support model
- No remote monitoring or alerting
- Single-ISP dependency at branches
- Inconsistent network hardware
- No centralized security controls
“Support meant waiting for a technician to fight Sheikh Zayed Road traffic just to reboot a router—while customers walked away.”
— Operations Director
Operational & Business Risks Identified
1. POS-Driven Revenue Loss
Without failover connectivity, even minor ISP fluctuations resulted in total checkout failure. Peak-hour downtime cost was estimated at AED 4,500 per hour.
2. PDPL & Data Exposure
Customer and loyalty data existed on unencrypted endpoints without MFA or audit logging—posing regulatory risk under UAE PDPL.
3. Lateral Security Risk
Flat networks allowed malware on office endpoints to potentially spread to POS systems across branches.
4. Inventory Synchronization Failures
Intermittent connectivity caused inventory mismatches between branches and the Al Quoz warehouse.
The Cost of Inaction for Dubai Retailers
- Lost sales during checkout disruptions
- Brand damage among high-expectation Dubai shoppers
- High store-manager turnover due to operational stress
- Audit and insurance exposure due to missing logs
How Teclogia Implemented the Fix
Discovery Actions
- Full audit of all 11 sites (circuits, cabling, hardware)
- Security baseline scan identifying 140+ critical vulnerabilities
- Traffic analysis to isolate POS bottlenecks
Solution Implemented
- SD-WAN: Dual-WAN fiber + 5G failover at all branches
- Firewall Standardization: Enterprise-grade NGFW per site
- Identity & Access: Enforced MFA via Microsoft Entra ID
- Endpoint Security: AI-driven EDR on all systems
- Central Management: Automated patching and real-time alerts
Execution Notes
Implementation was completed over 10 overnight maintenance windows (11:00 PM–3:00 AM), ensuring zero disruption to trading hours. POS traffic was isolated using VLAN segmentation, and ISP coordination ensured clean failover testing.
SLA Model Built for Dubai Reality
| Priority | Response | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| P1 – POS / Site Down | 15 minutes | 2 hours |
| P2 – Partial Outage | 30 minutes | 4 hours |
| P3 – Requests / Changes | 2 hours | 24 hours |
Business Outcomes
- 99.96% verified uptime
- 65% reduction in support tickets
- New branch IT readiness in under 48 hours
- Full compliance readiness under UAE PDPL
Lessons for Dubai SMEs
- Remote-first IT is mandatory in traffic-heavy cities
- Standardization beats hero-engineer support
- Dual-WAN is not optional
- MFA is the minimum security baseline
Next Step
Request a Business IT Risk Assessment
Focused on uptime, security, and operational continuity.