Amazon Web Service is expanding its data centre footprint with a new region due to open in the Middle East.
The cloud company plans to have its AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Region open by early 2019 and it will consist of three Availability Zones.
“As countries in the Middle East look to transform their economies for generations to come, technology will play a major role, and the cloud will be in the middle of that transformation,” said Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon Web Services, Inc.
“Some of the most gratifying parts of operating AWS over the last 11 years have been helping thousands of new companies get started, empowering large enterprises to reinvent their customer experiences, and allowing governments and academic institutions to innovate for citizens again. We look forward to making this happen across the Middle East.”
AWS has been under growing pressure from Microsoft and its cloud offering Azure, but despite the Redmond company growing its cloud footprint AWS has stayed in a dominant position.
The Amazon.com company already provides 44 Availability Zones across 16 infrastructure regions and is due to add another 14 Availability Zones across China, France, Hong Kong, Sweden and a second GovCloud Region in the US, all of which are due to be online by the end of 2018.
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To add some extra value to the Middle East expansion AWS is also launching its Edge Network Location in the United Arab Emirates in Q1 2018.
H.E. Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, said: “AWS’s commitment to expanding its presence into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, from Bahrain, is a major enabler for technology and data-driven business across the GCC. This will benefit global corporates, SMEs, entrepreneurs, and governments alike.
“The ability to store and share data at speeds the Gulf has never experienced before has the potential to help companies gain competitive advantage, allowing them to compete more effectively at a global level. Amazon Web Services is delivering the Middle East a world class service. With such a young, technologically adept, and growing population, the Gulf is well positioned to drive innovation in mobile applications and digital services. I am very eager to see how our region’s entrepreneurs will make use of this exciting opportunity.”
