Alibaba to ramp up global cloud offerings with new datacenters
Cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, Alibaba Cloud, has announced the launch of four new data centers by the end of this year. According to the company, the new datacenters will entail Dubai, Europe, Australia and Japan and will boost its data center network to 14 locations, covering economic centers around the world. Out of the four, the first Middle Eastern datacenter has started operations in Dubai.
How will it help?
The company claims that the expansion will provide customers worldwide with improved latency and greater access to its diverse offerings, including data storage and analytics services, enterprise-level middleware, and cloud security services. The move will also foot Alibaba Cloud’s position as a major global cloud provider and support its growing customers. “Alibaba Cloud has contributed significantly to China’s technology advancement, establishing critical commerce infrastructure to enable cross-border businesses, online marketplaces, payments, logistics, cloud computing and big data to work together seamlessly,” said Simon Hu, President of Alibaba Cloud.“We want to establish cloud computing as the digital foundation for the new global economy using the opportunities of cloud computing to empower businesses of all sizes across all markets.”The cloud company also plans to drive innovation, with network of facilities and strategic partnerships. It states that the enhanced cloud capabilities will make breakthrough innovation a real possibility with artificial intelligence, deep learning and data analytics.
Datacenter plans & partnerships
Middle East Alibaba claims that it’s the first global public cloud services provider to offer cloud services from a local data center in the Middle East. The Dubai Data Center has been opened in conjunction with YVOLV, a joint venture of Alibaba Cloud and Meraas, a Dubai-based holding company. YVOLV states that it will support and drive Dubai’s Smart City vision by leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s sophisticated cloud computing technologies to create new applications and big-data tools for customers in the region. Europe In Europe, Alibaba Cloud plans to partner with Vodafone Germany. The center is co-located in Vodafone’s data facilities in Frankfurt, Germany and will meet the increasing demand for sophisticated cloud computing services as the region seeks to accelerate the upgrade of its digital infrastructure. Australia In Asia-Pacific, the cloud company plans to open a new data center in Sydney, Australia. Alibaba claims that it will bring its most popular cloud services in data storage and processing services, enterprise-level middleware, and cloud security services to the Australian market. A dedicated team will be based in Australia, and build up a cloud ecosystem with local technology partners to drive cloud and big-data business in the region. Japan The Japanese datacenter, hosted by SB Cloud Corporation, a joint venture between Softbank and Alibaba Group, plans to provide Japanese enterprises with competitive and enhanced public cloud computing services from Alibaba Cloud. With the JV, Alibaba Cloud aims to further expand its cloud computing service platform by leveraging SoftBank’s enterprise customer base in Japan. Sicheng Yu, Vice President, Alibaba Group and General Manager, Alibaba Cloud Global said, “The four new data centers will further expand Alibaba Cloud’s global ecosystem and footprint, allowing us to meet the increasing demand for secure and scalable cloud computing services from businesses and industries worldwide.“The true potential of data-driven digital transformation will be seen through globalization and the opportunities brought by the new global economy will become a reality.”