Bahrain’s Gulf Air Group saves 20% on licensing costs and boosts security with Microsoft 365 E5

Gulf Air Group plays a crucial role in Bahrain’s aviation sector. It oversees a diverse portfolio of subsidiaries. These include Gulf Air, the nation’s carrier airline; Bahrain Airport Company, which manages and operates Bahrain International Airport; and Gulf Aviation Academy, the aviation training arm for Gulf Air Group.

To stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry, the group began its digital transformation and established four strategic pillars to guide its journey. "The first was to have a robust digital foundation," explains Ahmed Naeemi, Gulf Air Group Chief Technology Officer. “Building on that, we put customer experience as the second pillar. The third pillar was revenue growth, and the fourth was operational efficiency. Our vision is to position Gulf Air Group as a leader in aviation innovation by leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency, customer experience, sustainability, and revenue growth.”

Building on a unified foundation

Gulf Air Group began by unifying the technology across its six subsidiary businesses. “First, we moved 3,800 group employees onto Microsoft 365 E5, consolidating multiple contracts across subsidiaries. This unification resulted in about 20% savings in software licensing,” Naeemi shares.

Alongside this unification, the group adopted a Cloud First policy, migrating Microsoft workloads to the cloud, including email and other services previously hosted on-premises. “This migration included crucial business applications getting transferred onto Microsoft Azure, creating a streamlined, centralized framework for operations,” says Naeemi.

Finally, Gulf Air Group focused on making the most out of the tools and services it had access to. Instead of relying on third-party security solutions, Gulf Air Group began using Microsoft 365 E5 productivity and security features, including identity-based security capabilities. This approach reduced the need for the team to learn new technologies or manage multiple vendors, reducing costs and simplifying administration. Finally, the company used various Azure services to optimize computing resources, improve processes, and enhance monitoring of its digital infrastructure.

Gulf Air Group also prioritized security and identity management. For example, the group implemented multi-factor authentication using Microsoft Entra ID. “Self-service password reset (SSPR) has reduced password user requests by over 95%. Previously, these were manual and required significant efforts to manage,” Naeemi notes.

Expanding capabilities with tailored business apps

To support over 60 outstations outside Bahrain that serve Gulf Air’s destinations, the group deployed Azure Virtual Desktop. Naeemi explains, “Azure Virtual Desktop enables us to host all our specialized business applications on Azure and deploy an instance of these applications on any device, whether it’s a computer, mobile device, or tablet.” This approach reduced Gulf Air Group’s reliance on hardware, enabling it to remain agile and update its software stack as the need arises.

To enhance collaboration, the company also began using SharePoint. “Traditionally, we stored files on-premises. Since our move to Microsoft 365 E5, more than 20 million files have been moved to SharePoint Online and are securely shared across the group,” Naeemi adds.

Transitioning to data-driven decisions

Next, Gulf Air Group shifted its focus to becoming a data-led organization. “Everything we do revolves around data, and having insights—whether operational or commercial—is critical for decision-making,” Naeemi emphasizes.

The group consolidated data from multiple systems into Microsoft Fabric, standardizing dashboards across the organization in Power BI. To ensure business users could harness the full potential of these insights, the group trained 75 employees from various departments to build Power BI dashboards tailored to their specific needs. A dedicated data analytics team within the Technology and Digital Services department oversees these initiatives and supports their complex data analytics needs. “This approach ensures that the Technology and Digital Services team doesn’t become a bottleneck for creating dashboards. Furthermore, it enabled us to start working on implementing Power BI Copilot, which will make dashboard creation even easier,” Naeemi highlights.

Gulf Air Group’s analysis process involves pulling data, analyzing it, and addressing potential data entry errors. By the time insights are ready, there’s a risk they might be outdated, incorrect, or incomplete. “With Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and Copilot in the future, we’ll eliminate inefficiencies. At the click of a button, we’ll have accurate, real-time insights into profitability, operations, or other areas that currently require manual data extraction and analysis by teams,” expects Naeemi. “This will give us an edge over competitors still relying on traditional systems and processes.”

Leveraging expert support

Microsoft proved to be a key partner in driving Gulf Air Group’s transformation. Naeemi explains, “Microsoft Unified Support provided critical guidance and technical expertise. Their team was always available to address issues, share best practices, and offer strategic direction.”

The partnership also enabled Gulf Air Group to maximize the value of its Microsoft ecosystem. “Thanks to Microsoft Unified Support and our champions, over 90% of users engage with Microsoft solutions we’ve implemented, with some products reaching 97–98% adoption,” says Naeemi.

Reflecting on the journey, Naeemi highlights the changes in Gulf Air Group through this partnership: “We’ve made a 180-degree shift. We’ve drastically improved our security posture, have visibility over users and systems, and can monitor what’s happening on individual devices.”

Pioneering a proactive future

With a unified digital foundation in place, Gulf Air Group will begin introducing solutions to address specific operational challenges, starting with a disruption management system. “Whenever there is a flight delay or issue, this app automatically creates a Microsoft Teams group for the relevant parties. The Teams group is pre-configured with all the flight information, enabling the relevant parties to seamlessly communicate between ground services, the airport, and the airline,” elaborates Naeemi.

The group has also started using powerful tools like Microsoft Purview for data classification, data control, and data loss prevention (DLP). “This helps us make sure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information, reducing the risk of data leakage. The strength of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem is how seamlessly it ties everything together—from identity management to data security—so business users can focus on insights without worrying about who is accessing the data or how it’s being managed,” highlights Abdulla Fadhel, Director of System Operations at Gulf Air Group.

Gulf Air Group is expanding its digital transformation with automation and connectivity. “We are working towards becoming a cloud-managed enterprise and implementing Windows Autopilot for device provisioning,” Naeemi shares. This shift aims to further reduce hardware investments, allowing the Technology and Digital Services team to focus on delivering business insights. “We are also working with Microsoft to implement an artificial intelligence (AI) model that automatically reads and interprets invoices, cross-references them with predefined contract details, and flags any discrepancies. This reduces the time and effort required for validation, minimizes errors, and ensures greater accuracy for complex and high-volume invoicing tasks,” adds Naeemi.

Reflecting on the importance of digital transformation, Naeemi concludes, “If we aren’t at the forefront of this journey, we risk losing pace. Being proactive means we can bridge the gap between business needs and technology before it slows us down, improving revenue and efficiency across the group.”

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