AWS Launches New Asia Pacific (Taipei) Region, Investing Over $5 Billion to Boost Local Cloud Services and Innovation

Amazon has launched a new infrastructure region in Taipei, Taiwan, named the AWS Asia Pacific (Taipei) Region. This addition to AWS's global network is intended to provide greater flexibility for local and international organizations to run their applications and store data within the country, thereby achieving lower latency and meeting local data residency requirements. The region comprises three Availability Zones, increasing AWS's total global footprint to 117 Availability Zones across 37 regions, with plans for further expansion. Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice President of Infrastructure Services at AWS, emphasized that the new region would offer a wide range of cloud services, from basic compute and storage to advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. These capabilities will support organizations in various sectors, including education, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and nonprofits, to enhance innovation, operational efficiency, and end-user experiences. The launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Taipei) Region underscores Amazon's substantial commitment to Taiwan. The company plans to invest more than $5 billion to support the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of its data centers in the region. This investment aligns with AWS’s broader strategy to expand its cloud offerings and strengthen its presence in Asia Pacific. Premier Jung-tai Cho of Taiwan praised the launch, noting that it highlights Taiwan’s significance in the global supply chain and strengthens the collaborative relationship between AWS and Taiwan. The government anticipates that this partnership will catalyze digital transformation and promote emerging technologies in the country. Several prominent organizations have already begun leveraging the new AWS region. These include 104 Corporation, 91APP, Acer, Cathay Financial Holdings, Chunghwa Telecom, CyberLink, Gamania Group, KKCompany, Modernity Financial Technologies (MaiCoin), Trend Micro, TSMC, and Yahoo! TW Ecommerce. Their adoption ranges from enhancing online services to driving cutting-edge research and development in areas like semiconductors and financial technology. AWS's infrastructure in Taiwan is designed to be secure, reliable, and energy-efficient. Each Availability Zone features independent power, cooling, and physical security, and they are interconnected through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks to ensure high availability and fault tolerance. AWS continues to innovate in data center efficiency, with a recent report by Accenture estimating that AWS’s infrastructure is 4.1 times more energy-efficient than traditional on-premises solutions. When optimized, workloads on AWS can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 99%. To support the growing demand for cloud skills in Taiwan, AWS has invested in educational programs such as AWS Academy, AWS Educate, and AWS Skill Builder. Since 2017, over nine million people across Asia Pacific and Japan have received cloud training through AWS, including more than 200,000 individuals in Taiwan. Additionally, AWS plans to hire and develop local talent to operate and maintain the new region, further contributing to the country’s digital workforce. This significant investment in Taiwan builds on AWS's previous initiatives in the country. In 2014, AWS launched an Amazon CloudFront edge location in Taipei, followed by another in 2018. These edge locations enhance the delivery of content, data, and applications with low latency and high transfer speeds. In 2018, AWS also established two AWS Direct Connect locations in Taipei, offering private connectivity between AWS and customer data centers. AWS Outposts, launched in 2020, delivers AWS infrastructure and services to on-premises or edge locations. In 2022, AWS expanded its infrastructure with the introduction of AWS Local Zones in Taipei, placing compute, storage, and database services closer to major population centers and IT hubs to meet single-digit millisecond latency demands. Industry insiders view the launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Taipei) Region as a strategic move that could significantly boost Taiwan's digital economy. They expect it to attract more tech startups and enterprises, fostering innovation and economic growth. AWS's reputation for security and reliability, coupled with its advanced cloud services, positions the region to meet the growing demand for cloud solutions in various industries. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, providing over 240 fully featured services from 117 Availability Zones in 37 regions. AWS's services support a diverse array of workloads and are trusted by millions of customers, from startups to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Amazon, a pioneer in e-commerce and cloud computing, is committed to customer-centric innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability, aiming to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.