New AWS Malaysia cloud region to begin operations in 2024

Months after AWS pledged to invest $6 billion into cloud expansion in Malaysia, it has now announced that it will officially launch the first cloud region in the country in 2024.

“Since 2016, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has made deep investments in Malaysia, serving customers and unlocking transformation across industries,” the company said in a statement.

“Today, AWS reaffirmed its commitment, announcing that the new AWS Region in Malaysia will be live in 2024.”

The announcement follows the company’s recent opening of AWS’ first office in Kuala Lumpur as the company looks to establish its dominance.

According to the cloud giant, increased generative AI adoption in the country is one of the leading reasons for expansion into the country. The firm hopes that the new cloud region serves as the missing piece to organizations exploring the development and deployment of the technology.

Malaysia and Southeast Asia in general are currently experiencing a big wave of digitization presenting a big opportunity for cloud providers.

“In Malaysia, we're not just building infrastructure, we’re spurring a wave of digital transformation and investing in a digital workforce that will shape the nation's future,” Chuah Seng Heng, country manager for worldwide public sector at AWS in Malaysia said.

“The new AWS Region will empower Malaysia to accelerate cloud adoption in the public sector and help agencies transform the way citizen services are delivered.

However, AWS is not alone in its quest to dominate Southeast Asia. Google and Microsoft have already launched cloud regions and begun attracting clients.

Chinese cloud providers, most notably Alibaba Cloud, Huawei, and Tencent, have also entered the race for the cloud market and present the biggest threat to AWS.