Amazon Web Services is steadily following the footsteps of Microsoft’s Azure and has now set up operations in the Middle East as well. This news follows Microsoft’s announcement of setting up new data centers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Amazon announced today that it has set up a new region in Bahrain in the Middle East; this step will now allow the company to further expand into the untapped Middle East market and give a stiff competition to Microsoft.
“Starting today, developers, startups, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and non-profit organizations can run their applications and serve end-users from data centers located in the Middle East, as well as leverage advanced technologies from the world’s leading cloud, to drive innovation,” read an excerpt from the official announcement.
AWS CEO Andy Jassy mentioned that they want to be a part of the world’s emerging markets in terms of cloud computing. As of now, Amazon’s cloud services are extended in several parts of the world.
“I think we’re just in the early stages of enterprise and public sector adoption in the U.S. Outside the U.S. I would say we are 12-36 months behind. So there are a lot of mainstream enterprises that are just now starting to plan their approach to the cloud,” said Jassy.
Amazon aims to aid companies in digital transformation through cloud computing. The US as of now is extensively leveraging cloud computing to scale-up and expand operations. Similarly, the AWS aims to develop the same culture in the Middle East as well.
While Amazon has its foothold in the US and European markets, the Middle Eastern market, however, presents several opportunities for expansion. The new region established by the AWS is reported to consist of three Availability Zones (a geographical area comprising at least one data center.)
The company said that each Availability Zone was equipped with physical security, independent power and cooling as well. On top of it, the zones are connected via “redundant, ultra-low-latency networks.”
It was also revealed that the tech giant is now eyeing regions such as Italy, Indonesia and South Africa for opening nine additional Availability Zones in the future.
