Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced 32 new locations for its AWS Regions extensions, known formally as Local Zones.
AWS Local Zones are used to minimise latency by placing compute, storage, database, and other AWS services at the edge of the cloud near larger metropolitan areas, enabling customers to use AWS’ core services locally, while staying connected to AWS Regions.
Following the launch of the first 16 Local Zones in the US, AWS announced an additional 32 Local Zones in 26 countries that are expected to be completed over the next two years.
The 32 new Local Zones will be based in: Amsterdam, Athens, Auckland, Bangkok, Bengaluru, Berlin, Bogotá, Brisbane, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hanoi, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Kolkata, Lima, Lisbon, Manila, Munich, Nairobi, Oslo, Perth, Prague, Querétaro, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna, and Warsaw.
Despite London being home to the AWS Region Zone known as eu-west-2, none of the new locations are situated in the UK. AWS wasn’t immediately available to comment on the decision.
Commenting on the news, AWS Infrastructure Services VP Prasad Kalyanaraman said that the expansion is due to customers requesting “capabilities to push the edge of cloud services to new places”.
“The edge of the cloud is expanding and is now becoming available virtually everywhere. Thousands of AWS customers using US-based AWS Local Zones are able to optimise low-latency applications designed specifically for their industries and the use cases of their customers,” he added.
These customers include content streaming platform Netflix, cloud gaming technology provider Ubitus, as well as entertainment, sports, and news network provider The FOX Corporation.
Netflix director of Digital Production Infrastructure Engineering, Stephen Kowalski, said that AWS Local Zones allowed the company to migrate a share of its content creation process to AWS, while “ensuring an even better experience for artists”.
“AWS Local Zones bring cloud resources closer to our artists and have been a game changer for these applications. We are excited about the expansion of AWS Local Zones globally, which brings cloud resources closer to creators, allowing artists to get to work anywhere in the world and create without boundaries,” he added.
