AWS Launches AWS Local Zones location in Manila, Philippines
AWS Local Zones help customers deploy distributed edge and hybrid cloud applications that require single-digit millisecond latency to end users in Philippines
BDO Unibank, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, eCloudvalley, the International Rice Research Institute, and PLDT welcome the new AWS Local Zones location
MANILA, Philippines— 29 June—Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ:AMZN), today announced the launch of a new AWS Local Zones location in Manila, Philippines. AWS Local Zones are a type of infrastructure deployment that places AWS compute, storage, database, or other services near large population, industry, and information technology (IT) centres—enabling customers to deploy applications that require single-digit millisecond latency to end users or on-premises data centres. Customers can run workloads with low latency requirements on AWS Local Zones while seamlessly connecting to the rest of their workloads running in AWS Regions. AWS now has 34 AWS Local Zones around the world, with announced plans to launch 19 more Local Zones globally. To get started with AWS Local Zones, visit aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/localzones/locations.
For applications that require single-digit millisecond latency or have to remain within a geographic boundary to meet data residency preferences, the location of cloud infrastructure matters. Most customer workloads run in an AWS Region, a geographic location where AWS clusters data centres to serve customers. However, when an AWS Region is not close enough to meet low latency or data residency requirements, customers need AWS infrastructure closer to their data source or end users. Organisations have traditionally maintained these location-sensitive workloads on-premises or in managed data centres that require customers to procure, operate, and maintain their own IT infrastructure, and use different sets of Application Programming Interfaces (API) and tools for their on-premises and AWS environments. AWS manages and supports AWS Local Zones, meaning customers do not incur the expense and effort of procuring, operating, and maintaining infrastructure in various locations to support low latency applications.
“The launch of the AWS Local Zones location in Manila is a testament to the growing reputation of the Philippines as a premier regional IT hub,” said Ivan John Uy, secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. “We look forward to collaborating with more companies as they set up their IT businesses in the Philippines, and we are committed to creating a conducive environment for these ventures.”
The new AWS Local Zones location in Manila gives customers the ability to easily deploy applications close to end users across the city. Having AWS Local Zones close to large population centres enables customers to achieve the low latency required for use cases like online gaming, live streaming, and augmented and virtual reality. They can also support customers operating in regulated sectors like healthcare, financial services, and public sector that might have data residency preferences. AWS Local Zones can also help organisations migrate additional workloads to AWS, supporting a hybrid cloud migration strategy and simplifying IT operations.
Customers can connect to AWS Local Zones through an internet connection and they can use AWS Direct Connect to create a private, physical network connection to the new AWS Local Zones location in Manila, and access public AWS Regions and all other AWS Local Zones worldwide. The AWS Direct Connect location in Manila launched in May 2023 – the first in the Philippines. In addition to AWS Direct Connect, customers can access AWS Local Zones using an internet connection or virtual private network (VPN).
“The launch of an AWS Local Zones location Manila is another step in our commitment to unlocking economic value by supporting the digital transformation efforts of all Filipinos,” said Joel Garcia, chief technologist at AWS in ASEAN. “By reducing latency, organisations in the Philippines can help improve the performance of their applications, process large amounts of data faster, and drive productivity gains. AWS Local Zones will help customers accelerate the development of new solutions such as remote manufacturing simulations, immersive retail experiences, and live trading platforms.”
The new AWS Local Zones location in Manila is the newest addition to AWS infrastructure in the Philippines, which already includes Amazon CloudFront, a content delivery network service built for high performance, security, and developer convenience; AWS Outposts, a fully managed service that extends AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to customer premises; and Amazon Interactive Video Service points of presence, a fully managed service that makes it easy to set up live, interactive video streams for a web or mobile application in just a few minutes.
Customers and AWS Partners welcome the new AWS Local Zones location in Manila
BDO Unibank (BDO) is the largest bank in the Philippines with more than 1,300 operating branches and over 4,000 ATMs nationwide. “BDO has collaborated with AWS since 2019 to accelerate our digital transformation efforts. We welcome AWS’s continued commitment to bringing cloud infrastructure to the Philippines,” said Paul Siy, Chief Technology Officer at BDO Unibank. “The AWS Local Zones location in Manila will help accelerate local cloud migration and enable us to develop innovative, low latency banking solutions to transform the way Filipino’s access financial services.”
eCloudvalley is a born-in-the-cloud AWS Premier Consulting Partner in Asia Pacific with local offices in 11 countries worldwide. “The new AWS Local Zones location in Manila will empower businesses, startups, and developers in the Philippines to accelerate innovation with access to reliable cloud infrastructure closer to their applications,” said Bernard Chua, Country Head at eCloudvalley Digital Technology. “Together with AWS, eCloudvalley is committed to helping customers of all sizes develop low latency applications critical for industries like health care, financial services, gaming, and public sector, and educating the next wave of cloud practitioners in the Philippines.”
The International Rice Research Institute is dedicated to abolishing poverty and hunger in populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems. “The low latency that AWS Local Zones delivers is critical to our research efforts, which require us to process vast amounts of agricultural data such as rice variety genomes and weather patterns,” said Marco van den Berg, Chief Information Officer at the International Rice Research Institute. “The AWS Local Zones location in Manila will help us unleash greater innovation in the agri-tech sector and build solutions that create a more sustainable future for all.”
PLDT is the largest integrated telecommunications group in the Philippines. “We congratulate AWS on the launch of the new AWS Local Zones location in Manila, which will accelerate the growth of cloud adoption in the Philippines,” said Mitch Locsin, First Vice President & Head of Enterprise & International Group at PLDT Inc. “The cloud plays an important role in the digital transformation of Philippine enterprises by enabling them to accelerate the development of new services. We are pleased to see continued digital investments in the Philippines, which support the government’s ambitions for the nation to become Asia’s next digital hub.”
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