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The new infrastructure hub launches at a time of growing demand for cloud services in Malaysia and across Asia Pacific.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has today (22 August) announced the launch of a new Malaysia region to boost access to its cloud infrastructure in the South Asian country.
Starting today, cloud users will be able to run their applications from connected AWS data centres in Malaysia, providing lower latency networks and greater fault tolerance.
“The launch of an AWS infrastructure region in Malaysia provides access to new and emerging technology for Malaysian entities and businesses of all sizes, boosting our country’s capabilities for digital innovation,” said Tengku Zafrul, Malaysia’s Minister of Investment Trade and Industry.
An AWS region consists of multiple ‘availability zones’, with each zone containing one or more data centres. Each availability zone has independent power, cooling and networking. This means that if an availability zone goes down, other zones in the region can take its workload. As with Ireland, Malaysia now has three availability zones.
AWS first announced plans to establish a region in Malaysia in March 2023. At the time, the company said it aimed to invest up to $6bn in the country. In today’s announcement, the company reiterated its investment plans with an estimated $6.2bn promised by 2038.
“The new AWS region in Malaysia enables organisations across Asia Pacific to unlock the full potential of the world’s most extensive and reliable cloud, helping customers deploy advanced applications with a broad set of AWS technologies like AI and ML,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, VP of infrastructure services at AWS. “Malaysia’s rapidly growing digital economy requires access to secure, resilient and sustainable cloud infrastructure.
“With today’s launch, AWS is proud to support Malaysia’s digital transformation and help accelerate its role as a regional hub for AI.”
In its Industrial Master Plan 2030, the Malaysian government describes the country as ahead of most others in the region for digitalisation and plans to “boost digitalisation to keep ahead”. It also positions itself as “a neutral party to capitalise on US-China trade tensions”.
In May, Microsoft announced plans to invest $2.2bn in Malaysia over the next four years to help make Malaysia a “hub for cloud computing” by building its cloud and AI infrastructure.
That same month, AWS revealed plans to invest €7.8bn in Germany by 2040 to create the European Sovereign Cloud region and align with EU policy to keep European data on the continent.
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