Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to build new infrastructure and open data centres in the Middle East by early 2019, enabling customers to offer lower-latency web services in the region.
“As countries in the Middle East look to transform their economies for generations to come, technology will play a major role, and the cloud will be in the middle of that transformation,” said Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon Web Services, Inc.
This announcement has been welcomed by political leaders and royal families in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.
“This is a significant moment for Bahrain and the region. For the Kingdom, the expansion of regional cloud capacity builds upon a business environment that is already driving innovation and entrepreneurship, using technology to accelerate economic diversification in Bahrain,” said HE Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
The move is also welcomed by Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), which already uses Amazon Web Services to deliver content in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
“Amazon Web Services is delivering the Middle East a world class service. With such a young, technologically adept, and growing population, the Gulf is well positioned to drive innovation in mobile applications and digital services. I am very eager to see how our region’s entrepreneurs will make use of this exciting opportunity,” said H.E. Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
