Alibaba Group’s cloud computing arm Aliyun has announced plans to set up a new cloud data center in Singapore. Its headquarters for overseas business will also be based out of Singapore to drive Aliyun’s overseas expansion plan.
Scheduled for an early September launch, the Singapore facility will be the seventh globally in addition to existing centers in Beijing, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Shenzheng, Hong Kong and the U.S. It is also the second overseas data center to be opened this year by Aliyun after the launch of data center in Silicon Valley this March.
The new cloud data center leverages on Alibaba Group’s recent US$1 billion investment for cloud computing, and will enable more businesses to benefit from secure and reliable Aliyun-powered cloud services while riding on record foreign direct investment flows in Southeast Asia.
The launch of a Singapore center isn’t quite surprising since the company has hinted the move when specifying intended directions of the US$1 billion funding. The company also disclosed plans to establish more centers in the Middle East, Japan and Europe.
Ethan Yu, Vice President of Aliyun, described Singapore a natural destination for overseas headquarters as a springboard to expand into Asia Pacific region. “We are seeing healthy demand for cloud-related data management services in Singapore because of the ease of doing business, comprehensive transport and telecommunications connections and robust intellectual property regime. The stable geo-political climate and abundance of highly skilled talent are advantages too.”he added.
In the June quarter this year, Aliyun’s revenue growth from cloud computing and Internet infrastructure increased 106% year-on-year, driven by the accelerated growth of its cloud computing business compared to 82% in the prior quarter. The service currently serves 1.8 million customers as of June 30, 2015, including key Chinese corporations and Chinese government agencies and state-owned public service providers.
image credit: Aliyun