AEserver is the largest domain name registration and web host in the Middle East, located in Dubai. In this interview, founder Munir Badr shares his company’s story and provides valuable advice for any business looking to establish an online presence in the UAE market. Please describe the story behind AEserver. com

This is the classic story of a startup with no clear business plan or funding. I've always been curious about internet technology, so I just tried out how websites work, how to register a domain name, how to get a web hosting account, etc. Over the years, my curiosity developed into a business idea centered around local domain names. I discovered a very interesting local domain name niche in the United Arab Emirates, namely the AE Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs).

At the time, the domain name registration process was manual. You must print a PDF, fill it out by hand, and then fax it to the enrollment center along with your credit card authorization. I was too young to even have a credit card, so I had to borrow my dad’s credit card. The business stems from the fact that only local residents or companies in the UAE are allowed to register AE domain names.

It was a time of economic boom for business and tourism, and many people from all over the world began targeting the UAE market. Internet marketers start looking for ways to build local websites and find that they can't reserve an AE domain while sitting in an office in the United States, Europe, or anywhere else. They needed a local representative and that's where we filled that gap, we acted as the local representative for the domain name registration and of course we bundled that with our web hosting solution.

In 2007, the UAE government decided to establish an independent regulatory agency called the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). As part of this, they have a separate entity called AE Domain Administration (aeDA), which has launched a registry model, similar to what most large economies do. This means that any company using a domain name online can apply to become an official registrar like us, get certified by them, and start selling domain names.

Before that, I was just a freelancer working from home. In 2008, I established a company in the most economical way. We got certified and started selling domain names and hosting services. Soon, we became one of the largest domain name registrar and web hosting providers in the UAE. We now register all domain names, not just . In addition, we serve as registrars in two other GCC countries – Qatar and Bahrain. Based on our research and data, we're probably one of the largest registrars in the QA space as well, and we're very proud of that.

We are also a mature member and operate a data center in Dubai. We host our regional clients, offering everything from cloud hosting and VPS to dedicated servers and private clouds. What differentiates the UAE market from other markets? How would you advise companies to interact with the UAE market

The population of the UAE consists of 90% foreigners from all over the world who come here to work and make a living, and about 10% are local Emiratis. Most of them come from neighboring Arab/African countries, followed by the United States and European countries, and the Asian subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Asian countries.

Many foreigners come here with some experience in IT, technology or related to the Internet and the digital world. They are familiar with how web hosting and domain names work, so they obviously understand the big brands too. That's where our creativity and messaging come in to attract these customers.

We are not trying to compete with international companies like GoDaddy, which have multi-billion dollar global operations. Our main differentiator is the localization of our services.

We offer local hosting, local domain and local support. We are local. You can call us via local number. We understand the local language, understand the local mentality, and we accept local payment methods. It's all about localization and personalization.

Every country, population and nation has its own customs, anecdotes, etiquette and slang. As we all know, in the Arab world, people are very concerned about service levels. Service is top priority. When people go to a hotel or restaurant, they always expect first-class service and this is what we strive to achieve in our service. That's why we offer 24/7 support across multiple support channels.

I have lived in the United Arab Emirates since 1996, when I was a child. I saw this country transform from a desert to a futuristic city. It's a very unique area, mainly because of the way everything is governed here. The leadership has great vision.

However, there are some differences, for example, the cost of Internet bandwidth here is much more expensive than in Western countries. I mention this because we often get inquiries from European/US customers, for example, they don't understand why it's so much more expensive than in Europe. They think we are greedy, but they need to understand that there are some geographical factors that are beyond our control.

The internet connection is via underwater cables, which are much more expensive to run, so there are local regulations on data transfer/peer-to-peer, and the data center cooling needs to be colder in the hot summer weather than in Norway The data center has much larger power. Unfortunately, some customers fail to consider these costs. That's why there are global hosts and local hosts. As you approach local hosting, you need to keep in mind that there are specific items that may cost more. But overall, the area is expanding and attracting more and more talent, so you can see it becoming a great place to build startups and companies. In fact, over the past few years and during the pandemic, the UAE has been rated as one of the best places to work remotely. What are some trends or technologies that you find particularly exciting right now

I absolutely love everything related to business automation. I think the pandemic has played a key role in accelerating digitalization. The UAE government has been trying to go paperless and cashless for years, but in the past two years they accelerated that vision and suddenly, it's all happening overnight. Most business processes, as well as most government services, have been digitized, including electronic signatures and electronic payments, making it easier to process paperwork. I think this is the biggest trend today.

From the beginning, we have always called ourselves an online company, doing business online, online. We don't want customers who come to our website to then meet with us, fill out a contract and then have it delivered to them by post. When you deal with us, everything is done online.

We are the first company to offer WhatsApp business chat channels. For us it doesn’t matter where the chat comes from because we have a platform where everything flows, but if you are brainstorming a business idea and you want to reserve a domain quickly and you don’t want to send a question, Then wait for the answer, you want to get the information directly. WhatsApp is a very powerful tool.

During the pandemic, everything is being delivered, even things like cakes and flowers. During that time, it was the service industry that made most of the money. All these companies put out crazy hype and started going online. Most of the businesses that came to us during the pandemic were brick-and-mortar or retail businesses that didn’t even have a professional email or social media presence on Instagram. They realize their competition is taking place online and should start doing so.

We have some government and corporate customers with very complex procurement processes. They have to have a tender, a procurement, a purchase order, an invoice, all those documents that cause intolerable delays during the pandemic.

We have seen big companies pay by credit card, this is new to us as they always pay by purchase order. This is where I see automation and digitization happening. This is a popular trend and I really hope it continues.

Some of our competitors in the enterprise space are hosted in data centers owned by ISPs, which are very complex. You have to schedule calls and meetings, they usually require a business plan to understand who you are and then have you fill out forms and just buy a dedicated server.

We come from a more advanced background. We know that you can find European or American providers online, just buy a dedicated server online and have it ready in half an hour. We do the same thing. We bypass all paperwork and physical meeting processes without compromising security or KYC. We're still validating, we know who we're working with, but in 99% of cases, most of it is business-to-business.

Occasionally you will hear people say they can't sell online because they might have spammers registered, but I think these are just cover stories people make up to keep the status quo. In our case it's been a complete one-click automation. You just go online, purchase the services you need, and you're good to go.

Since the pandemic, online industries around the world have accelerated. I'm very happy to see these changes and I look forward to seeing more competition because without competition there is no innovation and without innovation there is no growth. We will continue to compete and ride this wave.

What is your suggestion?