Amazon Web Services announced that it would expand its cloud infrastructure and services in Singapore by investing an additional $9 billion over the next five years.
TakeAway Points:
- Amazon Web Services today announced that it would expand its cloud infrastructure and services in Singapore by investing an additional $9 billion over the next five years.
- However, Amazon said that it has invested more than SG$11 billion in Singapore’s cloud ecosystem since its entry into Singapore.
- The company has taught over 400,000 Singaporeans cloud computing skills, and it plans to “continue to invest in upskilling and enhancing productivity” all throughout the nation.
Amazon to Expand its Cloud Infrastructure
The announcement was made at a summit today in order to expand its cloud infrastructure and services in Singapore.
Priscilla Chong, country manager of AWS Singapore, pointed out that “even since our investment in Singapore in 2010, AWS has strengthened their commitment to the ASEAN region, sharing the uplift [in] digital skills across the nations, providing secure and resilient infrastructure consistently across the region.”
“The investment will go into the construction and build up of the DC capabilities, all associated with the Asia-Pacific Singapore region,” Chong added.
Amazon’s Entrance to Singapore
In 2010, the cloud computing division of the massive American IT company made its first move outside of the U.S. and Europe, opening up shop in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific area. Amazon said that in the intervening period, it has invested more than SG$11 billion in Singapore’s cloud ecosystem.
Furthermore, Chong mentioned that “starting with our investment in Singapore in 2010, AWS has continued to strengthen their commitment to the ASEAN region, sharing the uplift [in] digital skills across the nations, providing secure and resilient infrastructure consistently across the region.”
According to Chong, since 2017, the company has taught over 400,000 Singaporeans cloud computing skills, and it plans to “continue to invest in upskilling and enhancing productivity” all throughout the nation.
Amazon’s Cloud Service and AI
Due to the fact that training AI models takes massive amounts of data, and the cloud gives users access to enormous data sets, the AI boom has resulted in a spike in demand for cloud computing services and data centres.
Tan Kiat How, senior minister of state at Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information, said during the event that “cloud service providers like AWS play an important role in improving the digital economy ecosystem. Besides being a foundational digital infrastructure for organizations, cloud service providers enable enterprises to easily access digital resources like compute and storage, as well as advanced capabilities like AI and generative AI.”
As the region continues to witness “great momentum on digitalization,” Tan stated that AWS will also assist more organisations in Singapore in adopting cloud services and AI capabilities.
Tan also pointed out that, despite the continued optimism around the digital economy, there are just “not enough tech professionals” in Singapore or even worldwide.
AWS Emerges Biggest Cloud Infrastructure Provider
According to research from Synergy Research Group, AWS was the biggest cloud infrastructure provider globally in the first quarter. In the first quarter of this year, AWS’s share of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market dropped to 31% from 32% the previous year. AWS was ranked first, with Microsoft Azure coming in second.
Moreover, Microsoft just announced last week that, as part of its increased focus on Southeast Asia, it will make investments in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Over the past few years, Amazon Web Services has also increased its presence in Southeast Asia.
It announced plans in October 2022 to establish a $5 billion area over 15 years in Thailand, and in March of last year, it declared that it will invest at least $6 billion by 2037 in a new region in Malaysia. Jakarta will be home to an Amazon region in December 2021.
