Amazon Web Services launches data centre operations in UAE, its second in Middle East
UAE hub could generate 6,000 jobs annually, add Dh41b to the GDP over 15 years
Dubai: Amazon Web Services has launched full-scale operations in the UAE, thus becoming its second ‘region’ in the Middle East after the Bahrain operations launch in 2019. Based out of Abu Dhabi, the new AWS could generate up to 6,000 jobs annually as businesses use the facility for their data centre needs.
AWS reckons that together with the jobs, Dh20 billion will flow into the local economy through to 2036. “The AWS Middle East (UAE) Region will also add an estimated $11 billion (Dh41 billion) over the next 15 years to the UAE’s GDP, the company said in a statement.
“We are making it possible for even more customers to harness the power of the cloud to drive innovation across the UAE, while also investing in the local economy through job creation, training for highly sought-after technology skills, and education resources to further advance the UAE’s strategic priorities,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice-President of Infrastructure Services at AWS.
AWS’ Dh20 billion spend in the UAE over the next 15 years includes that on construction of data centers, operational expenses related to ongoing utilities and facility costs, and purchases of goods and services from regional businesses.
The US tech giant has 87 'availability zones' across 27 geographic regions, and with announced plans to launch 21 more and seven more AWS Regions in Australia, Canada, India, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland.
Enterprises that have chosen AWS include Al Ghurair Investments, Al Tayer Group, Aramex, Axiom Telecom, Flydubai, GIG Gulf (previously AXA Gulf), OSN, Shahid, Seera Group and Virgin Middle East.
- AWS Regions are composed of 'availability zones' that place infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations.
- The AWS Middle East (UAE) Region consists of three availability zones and joins the existing AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Region, which opened in July 2019.
- Availability Zones are located far enough from each other to 'support customers’ business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high-availability applications that use multiple availability zones'.
- Each availability zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected through redundant, ultra-low latency networks. AWS customers focused on high-availability can design their applications to run in multiple availability zones to achieve even greater fault tolerance. The launch of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region will enable local customers with data residency requirements to store data securely in the UAE, while providing customers with lower latency across the country.