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Amazon Web Services commits $5.3bn in Saudi Arabia

6 March 2024

US-headquartered Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to launch a new AWS Region in Saudi Arabia in 2026 as part of its long-term commitment to invest more than $5.3bn in the kingdom.

The planned AWS Region in Saudi Arabia will comprise three availability zones, or a data centre infrastructure in separate and distinct locations "far enough from each other to support customers’ business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications".

Each availability zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected "through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks", according to AWS, a subsidiary of global e-commerce company Amazon.

The new AWS Region aims to provide options for various companies and organisations to run their applications and serve end users from data centres located in Saudi Arabia, "ensuring that customers who want to keep their content in-country can do so", AWS added.

As part of its long-term commitment, AWS is planning to invest more than $5.3bn in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, technology firms led by US-headquartered Oracle and Microsoft pledged a combined total investment of over $9bn in Saudi Arabia.

These deals include $2.1bn from Microsoft and $1.5bn from Oracle. According to a local media report, both companies intend to build data centres comprising a “cloud region” catering to Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region.

It is understood the planned investments by Microsoft and Oracle will be spread over several years.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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