Imran Khan, founder and managing director of RapidCompute, Pakistan’s first indigenous enterprise-class public cloud provider, shares his compelling startup journey this insights session. RapidCompute, a division of Cybernet, the leading internet and data communication network service provider in Pakistan, was founded in 2011, quickly growing to be operational in 10 different cities in the country, serving clients across various sectors in Pakistan, Dubai, Sri Lanka and the Middle East.
“In every step of the way, we set out to with the ambition to change the cloud and tech landscape of the country.”
This ambition was met with the realization that for sustainable innovation, their product and personnel would have to be homegrown. Everything but the hardware of their product is developed locally. Rather than continue pairing with international partners, RapidCompute did and continues to annually conduct a talent search from top universities in related fields, bringing them in for further growth in their training centres, eventually forming a part of their team.
Feeling “it’s important to pick the difficult battles first”, RapidCompute targeted the government and the banking sector, building their credibility and integrity in the market. By working with various ministries, telecom companies and organizations such as State Bank, they established themselves as the securest cloud service. This is only cemented by them having security certifications by CSA, TIA- 942, PCI DSS, UKAS and the only cloud service company in Pakistan to have an EU GDPR certification, allowing them to expand in Europe.
Despite this rippling success, RapidCompute continues operating on the tenets of humility and upheaval it was founded on. They’ve done a considerable amount of pro bono work for public good, most noticeably, covid relief. Additionally the organization is heavily invested in Pakistan’s startup community and its maturation. Startsmart by RapidCompute is a program dedicated solely to mentor startups regarding an assortment of related topics such as setting up, cloud hosting and pitching to investors.
To learn more about RapidCompute’s rapid growth watch the full session here!
