Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) reaches yet another milestone in Digital Services as it attains Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS) certification v3.2 for its Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IaaS) offering – PTCL Smart Cloud. PCI DSS certification is a landmark achievement for PTCL Smart Cloud services, which assures maximum security compliance as per international standards. Pakistan’s First SDN-enabled cloud infrastructure is now the country’s most secure enterprise grade cloud platform. In today’s digital age, the primary concern for any organization while moving towards cloud is the security of their mission critical data. PTCL’s IaaS Cloud Services run on two locally hosted Tier-3 certified datacenters, which itself is a guarantee of optimal security. PTCL Cloud services achieved this certification after a vigorous evaluation by Risk Associates Europe Limited, whereby Smart Cloud services have been found compliant to all international security standards. The PCI Security Standards Council is a global open body formed to develop, enhance, disseminate and assist with the understanding of security standards for payment account security. The Council maintains, evolves, and promotes the Payment Card Industry Security Standards. It also provides critical tools needed for implementation of the standards. The Council’s founding members, American Express, MasterCard, Visa Inc., etc. have agreed to incorporate the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) as part of the technical requirements for each of their data security compliance programs. PTCL’s Chief Digital Services Officer, Adil Rashid on the occasion said, “Serving the Enterprise segment, where security is the prime concern amongst our customers today, PTCL’s certified IaaS Platform guarantees provisioning of optimal locally hosted cloud service solutions for our customers. Our Smart Cloud services are transforming organizations by virtue of migration towards state-of-the-art cloud services resulting in improved efficiency that enables organizations to successfully outperform competition. This certification is a major step towards PTCL’s quest to provide secure and reliable cloud solutions.” PTCL launched Smart Cloud in June 2016 and has built a satisfied clientele in a short span of time. With custom built solutions that include Virtual Data Centers, Virtual Private Servers and Business Continuity as a service, PTCL Smart cloud is helping organizations revolutionize their business practices and help them realize their growth potential. Published in Daily Times, January 11th 2018.