NEW YORK & LONDON & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 19, 2025--
Options Technology (Options), a leading provider of cloud-enabled managed services for global capital markets, today announced the expansion of its Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) direct bill capabilities to Dubai. This move comes as the city cements its status as a rising global hub for Hedge Funds, Private Equity firms, and Asset Managers, many of whom are actively expanding their footprint in the region.
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With this latest launch, Options enhances its ability to deliver seamless Microsoft 365 and Azure services to clients in Dubai, offering locally supported access through its Tier 1 CSP Direct Bill accreditation, now spanning five of Microsoft’s designated global regions. The expansion also marks a strategic investment in Dubai’s growing role as a magnet for leading financial institutions seeking innovation, regulatory clarity, and geographic diversification.
Danny Moore, President and CEO of Options, commented: “Delivering Microsoft cloud services directly in Dubai marks a significant milestone for Options. This expansion has been driven by increasing demand from our clients, particularly hedge funds, private equity firms, and asset managers headquartered in London and New York, who have recently established operations in Dubai. We’re proud to support their growth with secure, enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure, localized support, and streamlined billing. As a Tier 1 Microsoft Solutions Partner with CSP Direct Bill status across five global regions, we’re ideally positioned to enable the next phase of capital markets expansion in the region.”
The new offering reinforces Options’ flagship enterprise technology platform, AtlasWorkplace, which integrates Microsoft cloud services with secure connectivity, enterprise collaboration tools, and regulatory compliance solutions tailored for capital markets clients.
This latest expansion of services will further strengthen Options’ global operational delivery, complementing its 24/7 local support to better serve the specific needs of international clients and reinforcing its broader mission to support the capital markets through cutting-edge technology, enhanced security and expertise.
Building on this momentum, the company’s growth continues with new offices established in Dubai, Sydney, Paris, Toronto, and Chicago - expanding its global footprint alongside existing hubs in New York, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Auckland, and Belfast.
Today’s news comes as the latest in a series of major milestones at Options, including its partnership with Couchdrop, enhanced security services with Netskope and receipt of the Emerging Partner award from Equinix.
Options Technology:
Options Technology (Options) is a financial technology company at the forefront of banking and trading infrastructure. We serve clients globally with offices in New York, London, Belfast, Cambridge, Chicago, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, and Auckland. At Options, our services are woven into the hottest trends in global technology, including high-performance Networking, Cloud, Security, and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
www.options-it.com
Options Expands Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Direct Bill Capabilities in Dubai, Marking Fifth Global Region of Coverage
When targeted by nationwide protests early this year, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of his nearly four decades in power. But now a U.S. or Israeli military strike may have ended his rule.
There was no immediate Iranian comment about him Saturday after President Donald Trump said Khamenei was dead. Israeli officials also told The Associated Press earlier that he was killed in a major new attack by U.S. and Israeli forces.
The 86-year-old Khamenei tried to avert such strikes as the U.S. built up its military presence in the region to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program. He warned that if the U.S. struck, a regional war would ensue. At the same time, he allowed Iran to enter negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program.
Long before the supreme leader’s compound was among the first targets on Saturday, Khamenei was under growing pressure.
The suppression of the protests, with thousands of people killed amid chants of “Death to Khamenei,” was a sign of the threat that popular anger represented. Years of sanctions, economic mismanagement and corruption have gutted Iran’s economy.
Meanwhile Israeli and U.S. bombardment during last summer’s 12-day war heavily damaged Iran’s nuclear program, missile systems and military capabilities. Iran's network of regional proxies, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, has been weakened by Israeli and U.S. attacks since the war in Gaza began, along with Tehran’s influence across the Middle East.
Here’s what to know about Khamenei:
When he rose to power in 1989, Khamenei had to overcome deep doubts about his authority. A low-level cleric at the time, Khamenei lacked the religious credentials of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution.
But Khamenei has ruled three times longer than the late Khomeini and has shaped Iran perhaps even more dramatically.
He entrenched the system of rule by the mullahs, or Shiite Muslim clerics. Under the Islamic Republic, clerics stand atop the hierarchy, drawing the lines to which the civilian government, the military and the intelligence and security establishment must submit.
In the eyes of hard-liners, Khamenei stands as the unquestionable authority — below only that of God.
At the same time, Khamenei built the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard into the dominant player in military and internal politics. It boasts Iran’s most elite military and oversees its ballistic missile program. Khamenei also gave the Guard a free hand to build a network of businesses and dominate the economy.
In return, the Guard became his loyal shock force.
The first major threat to Khamenei’s grip was the reform movement that swept into a parliamentary majority and the presidency soon after he became supreme leader. It advocated for giving greater power to elected officials, which Khamenei’s hard-line supporters feared would lead to dismantling the Islamic Republic system.
Khamenei rallied the clerical establishment, and unelected bodies run by mullahs shut down major reforms and barred reform candidates from elections.
Since then, waves of popular protests have been crushed.
Huge nationwide demonstrations erupted in 2009 over allegations of vote-rigging. Under the weight of sanctions, economic protests broke out in 2017 and 2019. More came in 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by police for not wearing her mandatory headscarf properly.
Crackdowns against the protesters killed hundreds, and hundreds more were arrested amid reports of detainees tortured to death or raped in prison.
The latest demonstrations touched off in late December in Tehran’s traditional bazaar after the country's currency, the rial, currency plunged to a record low of 1.42 million to the U.S. dollar. Protests quickly spread across the country.
“Rioters must be put in their place,” Khamenei declared. When hundreds of thousands took to the streets Jan. 8 and 9, security forces fired on crowds, and veterans of past demonstrations said they were stunned by the firepower unleashed.
Activists said they documented more than 7,000 killed and were working to verify more. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 dead, which is still higher than the toll from past crackdowns.
By agreeing to nuclear negotiations, Khamenei likely sought to buy time to avert U.S. strikes. But Iran opposed Washington's main demands that it halt all nuclear enrichment and surrender its uranium stocks.
Trump initially threatened strikes to stop Khamenei and Iran’s other leaders from killing peaceful protesters. He then wielded the threat to push Tehran to engage seriously in nuclear negotiations.
Some in Iran and the large Iranian diaspora expressed hope that the U.S. would use military force to bring down Khamenei. But there were also strong voices even among Khamenei opponents who were against foreign intervention to topple the theocracy.
Officially a panel of Shiite clerics is tasked with choosing one of their own to succeed Khamenei, and multiple names have been touted among including his son.
Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told The Associated Press this week that a key lesson Tehran drew from last year’s war was the need to ensure regime continuity in case of Khamenei’s death. He added that power could shift to a small committee of top officials until hostilities subside.
“It is possible that Khamenei has indicated a preferred successor behind closed doors,” Citrinowicz said. “However automatic implementation of a preselected successor will increase internal friction during war.”
But the Revolutionary Guard has grown to become Iran’s most powerful body. If the supreme leader is confirmed to be dead, that could prompt Guard commanders or its regular military to seize power more overtly. And that could set off a bloody conflict over control of the oil-rich country of 85 million people.
FILE - In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to a speaker during a meeting with a group of university students in Tehran, Iran, May 28, 2018. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
