Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc., has announced that it will launch a new infrastructure region in Taiwan by early 2025. The new region, named AWS Asia Pacific (Taipei), will enable developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and large enterprises to run their workloads and store content securely in Taiwan, providing end users with even lower latency. This initiative reflects AWS’s long-term commitment to meeting the high demand for cloud services in Taiwan and across the Asia Pacific region. AWS plans to invest billions of dollars in Taiwan over the next 15 years.
Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice President of Infrastructure Services at AWS, stated: “AWS is committed to helping customers of all sizes and industries accelerate their digital transformation with the highest levels of security and resilience available. The new AWS region in Taiwan will allow organizations to unlock the full potential of the cloud and build with AWS technologies such as computing, storage, databases, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to drive innovation and transform the way businesses and institutions serve their customers.”
Executive Yuan Premier Jung-tai Cho expressed gratitude towards AWS: “We appreciate AWS for offering a diverse range of innovative cloud services to both local and international businesses. Taiwan boasts a well-established industrial cluster, particularly excelling in sectors such as semiconductors and information and communication technologies. We anticipate that the new AWS region in Taiwan will foster a mutually beneficial, prosperous, and sustainable relationship.”
### Features of the new AWS region
The new AWS region will consist of three availability zones at launch, joining the existing 105 availability zones in 33 geographical regions worldwide. The availability zones are located far enough apart to support customers’ business continuity but close enough to provide low latency for high availability applications using multiple zones. Each zone features independent power, cooling, and physical security, connected through redundant ultra-low latency networks.
### Customers and partners celebrating the new region
Organizations in Taiwan such as Acer, Cathay Financial Holdings, Chunghwa Telecom, Gamania, KKCompany, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and Trend Micro already use AWS to run their workloads. For example, Cathay Financial Holdings has built a cloud environment on AWS that meets security control and compliance requirements. Marcus Yao, Senior Executive Vice President of Cathay Financial Holdings, commented: “With the upcoming new AWS region in Taiwan, CFH is expected to provide even more diverse and convenient financial services.”
Chunghwa Telecom, a leader in cloud network services in Taiwan, also welcomes the arrival of AWS. Dr. Ivan Lin, President of Chunghwa Telecom, said: “Chunghwa Telecom will leverage AWS’s cloud infrastructure and technologies, and together with our expertise, we look forward to offering our customers direct connectivity services with lower latency, high bandwidth, and high security.”
### Ongoing investment in Taiwan
Since 2014, AWS has launched two Amazon CloudFront edge locations in Taiwan. In 2020, AWS introduced AWS Outposts in Taiwan, and in 2022, AWS expanded its presence with the launch of AWS Local Zones in Taipei. AWS continues to invest in training students, local developers, and technical professionals in Taiwan through programs like AWS Academy, AWS Educate, and AWS Skill Builder. Since 2017, AWS has trained over 100,000 individuals in Taiwan in cloud skills.
### Commitment to sustainability
Amazon has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions in its operations by 2040. Additionally, AWS aims to be water positive by 2030, returning more water to communities than it uses in its direct operations. This infrastructure region will not only drive digital transformation in Taiwan but also contribute to sustainable development and the creation of high-quality jobs.
The new AWS region in Taiwan promises to be a catalyst for the growth of local industries and the advancement of sustainable development initiatives, ensuring that customers in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region can fully leverage AWS cloud technologies.