Alibaba Expands Global Reach with Four New Data Centers

By Robert Demeter

Simon Hu, President, Alibaba Cloud

Hangzhou, China—Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, plans to open four new data center facilities by the end of 2016 in the Middle East, Europe, Australia and Japan, the company announced recently. The new additions will expand the firm’s cloud computing network to 14 global locations, further covering key economic centers around the world.

The expansion will provide customers worldwide with improved latency and greater access to Alibaba’s diverse offerings, including data storage and analytics services, enterprise-level middleware, and cloud security services. The new data centers will support the company’s growing client base beyond the current 2.3 million, strengthening its position as a major global cloud provider.

“Alibaba Cloud has contributed significantly to China’s technology advancement, establishing critical commerce infrastructure to enable cross-border businesses, online marketplaces, payments, logistics, cloud computing and big data to work together seamlessly. We want to establish cloud computing as the digital foundation for the new global economy using the opportunities of cloud computing to empower businesses of all sizes across all markets,” Simon Hu, president of Alibaba Cloud, said in prepared remarks.

One of the four new locations includes Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Dubai data center is held in conjunction with YVOLV, a joint venture of Alibaba Cloud and Dubai-based Meraas Holdings. YVOLV will leverage Alibaba’s cloud computing technologies to create new applications and big-data tools for users in the region.

To support enterprises in Europe, Alibaba Cloud will partner with Vodafone Germany to open its first data center in Frankfurt. The center is co-located in Vodafone’s data facilities in Frankfurt, well positioned to meet the increasing demand for cloud computing services as the region seeks to accelerate the upgrade of its digital infrastructure.

Extending its global footprint in the Asia-Pacific, Alibaba Cloud will open a new data center in Sydney. A dedicated team will be based in Australia and will work with local technology partners to drive cloud and big-data business in the region. The Japan Data Center will be hosted by SB Cloud Corp., a joint venture between Softbank and Alibaba Group.

The new facilities are based in four strategically important trading and economic centers, and each of the four will add significant value to Alibaba Cloud’s global network.

Photo via Alibaba Group website