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AWS cloud migration services for Saudi Arabia

We plan and run your move to AWS around the rules that apply in the Kingdom, the AWS region that fits each workload, and a cost you have in writing before you commit.

Who this is for

Companies in Saudi Arabia moving servers from their own data centre, a local host or another cloud onto AWS: from a startup with a handful of virtual machines to an established business with several environments and regulated data. You get one team that classifies the data, picks the region with you, costs the move and runs it workload by workload, in Arabic or English, scheduled around the Sunday-to-Thursday week. If you are still deciding whether AWS fits, our guide to AWS migration in Saudi Arabia covers the background; this page is about doing it.

What makes a Saudi migration different

The engineering is the same as anywhere else. Three things change the plan:

  • Region choice. AWS has announced its first region in the Kingdom and says it will launch in December 2026. Until it is live, Saudi workloads run in the Bahrain or UAE regions, so the plan has to say which workloads move now, which wait, and how to avoid migrating twice.
  • Personal data. The Personal Data Protection Law, overseen by SDAIA, allows transfers outside the Kingdom only on its conditions: a permitted purpose, an adequate destination or an approved safeguard, and a risk assessment for safeguarded transfers.
  • Sector rules. The National Cybersecurity Authority's cloud controls apply mainly to government bodies and critical national infrastructure, and the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has its own cloud and outsourcing rules for financial firms. A sector rule can require in-Kingdom hosting where the PDPL alone would not.

What we deliver

Data classification and region decision

Every workload and the data it holds, classified, with a recommended region for each class and the reason written down. Your legal counsel or data protection officer confirms how the rules apply; we make the technical consequences clear.

A costed migration plan

An inventory of servers, databases, storage and licences, a target architecture with named AWS services, and the AWS cost of each workload, with one-off migration cost separated from the monthly run rate.

A landing zone with guardrails

A multi-account AWS structure in your company's name, with policies that stop regulated accounts from using regions they should not, logging, and access you control.

Migration in waves

The lowest-risk workloads first, each wave with a cutover plan, an agreed downtime window and a rollback position. Our engineers run it, or work alongside yours.

A plan for the Saudi region

For workloads that should end up in the Kingdom, the steps to move them once the Saudi region opens and the services you need are available there, so the first migration does not have to be repeated from scratch.

Verification and evidence

After each cutover we check the workload against the agreed scope and record what runs where, which is the evidence both your compliance team and any staged AWS funding ask for.

How the migration runs

  1. 01

    Assess

    Inventory, data classification and a cost comparison of today's setup against AWS. This is the business case, and the first phase of AWS's Migration Acceleration Program (MAP).

  2. 02

    Mobilize

    Region decisions, the landing zone, the wave plan and the funding route are settled. We confirm scope and cost with you in writing before anything moves.

  3. 03

    Migrate

    Workloads move in waves, with migrated resources tagged so they count towards any MAP funding. Each wave is verified before the next starts.

  4. 04

    Hand over

    Documentation of what moved, where it runs and what it costs, and either a handover to your team or ongoing operations through our cloud services.

Typical migration timeline

Every estate is different, so these are indicative ranges for a mid-sized migration, not a quote. The plan you receive at the end of the assessment has calendar dates for your workloads.

PhaseTypical durationWhat you have at the end
Assess2 to 4 weeksAn inventory, data classification, a region decision for each data class and a written cost comparison
Mobilize2 to 6 weeksA landing zone in your accounts, the wave plan, the funding route and a signed-off scope and cost
Migrate4 to 16 weeks, in wavesWorkloads running on AWS, each wave verified and its resources tagged
Hand over1 to 2 weeksRunbooks, architecture and cost documentation, and a handover or ongoing operations
Move into the Saudi region, if neededPlanned once the region is liveIn-Kingdom workloads moved after the services they need are confirmed there

A single application with a small database can move in a few weeks; an estate with several environments and regulated data takes months. Time spent waiting on AWS, such as funding approvals, is shown separately in the plan.

What you get

  • A workload and data inventory, with each data class and its region recorded
  • A region decision record your counsel and compliance team can review, including the transfer basis for any personal data hosted outside the Kingdom
  • A cost model with the one-off migration cost and the monthly AWS run rate for each workload
  • A target architecture with the AWS services named
  • Landing zone code in your repository, with the region as a parameter so a later move into the Saudi region is a configuration change
  • A wave plan with a cutover window and a rollback position for every wave
  • A verification report after each wave: what runs where, and what it costs
  • Runbooks and access handed to your team, on AWS accounts in your company's name

Industries we work with

We do not name clients here, and the engineering is similar from one sector to the next. What changes is the rules and the risk, so these are the kinds of companies we plan for:

Software and SaaS

Product companies moving application servers, databases and build pipelines, often with customers across the Gulf and a bill that has to stay predictable as they grow.

Retail and e-commerce

Online stores and marketplaces with seasonal peaks such as Ramadan, where scaling and the timing of each cutover matter more than anything else.

Financial services and fintech

Firms under Saudi Central Bank rules, where cloud and outsourcing requirements decide which workloads can move and where. We plan around the requirements your compliance team confirms.

Healthcare

Clinics, laboratories and health platforms holding sensitive personal data, where data classification and the region decision come before any technical work.

Logistics and transport

Tracking, dispatch and warehouse systems that cannot stop, moved in small waves with short downtime windows.

Education and training

Learning platforms with heavy start-of-term traffic and video, where content delivery and storage costs shape the architecture.

How AWS funding fits

  • MAP funding is sized to the migration and released in stages against evidence. At MAP scale we work alongside your AWS account team, because Alventara does not hold the AWS Migration Competency.
  • For smaller, well-scoped migrations, we can request partner migration funding ourselves as an AWS Select Tier Services Partner.
  • If the real question is whether one workload belongs on AWS, a funded proof of concept comes first. Our comparison of AWS funding programmes explains which route fits.
  • AWS approves every request and says partner benefits may not be available in every market, so we confirm the terms for the Kingdom before you plan around them.

Why companies choose Alventara

We are an AWS Select Tier Services Partner, and every engagement starts with a written scope and a cost built from your real usage rather than list prices.

  • Cost in writing before anything moves
  • Region and data decisions recorded, not assumed
  • Arabic and English, scheduled around your working week

Common questions

Not usually for every workload. Data without an in-Kingdom requirement can move to the Bahrain or UAE regions now. Workloads that must stay in the Kingdom wait for the Saudi region, which AWS says will launch in December 2026, and for the services they need to be available there.

The PDPL allows it on conditions: a permitted purpose, an adequate destination or an approved safeguard such as Saudi standard contractual clauses, and a risk assessment where a safeguard is used. Your counsel should confirm how that applies to your data. Sector rules can be stricter.

We work from Cairo, and discovery, planning and migration run remotely. Cutovers are scheduled around the Sunday-to-Thursday week and your business hours.

Often in part. MAP funding applies to committed migrations and is sized to their scope; smaller migrations may qualify for partner migration funding. AWS decides every request, and we tell you early when no programme fits.

It depends on how many workloads move, how much data, and how much changes on the way. We cost it per workload in the assessment, and you have the figure in writing before you commit.

It depends on scope. A single application with a small database can move in a few weeks; an estate with several environments and regulated data takes months. You get calendar dates for each workload at the end of the assessment.

You do. The landing zone is built in AWS accounts in your company's name, the infrastructure code goes into your repository, and access is handed to your team at the end.

Ready to move to AWS?

Send us your setup and we come back with a scope, a sequence and an estimated cost. If the credit programmes are not a fit, we say so on the first call.