AWS to build 32 more small clouds around the world

Amazon Web Services has completed the first 16 of its Local Zones – small versions of its cloud located in cities that don't host full regions – and announced 32 more across 26 nations.

The cloud colossus announced Local Zones in December 2019, touting them as offering single-digit millisecond latency access to a subset of its cloud services for customers that value speed above all else and can do without the scale of a full AWS Availability Zone or Region.

The first Local Zone demonstrated the idea by splashing down in Los Angeles and targeting customers who run video-editing tools and can't tolerate long waits.

AWS has not exactly shouted the virtues of Local Zones from the rooftops since, but today revealed its first 16 installations have been completed – and they're all in the USA.

The cloudy concern will next bring 32 more Local Zones to another 26 nations.

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The lucky cities chosen to host Local Zones are Amsterdam, Athens, Auckland, Bangkok, Bengaluru, Berlin, Bogotá, Brisbane, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hanoi, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Kolkata, Lima, Lisbon, Manila, Munich, Nairobi, Oslo, Perth, Prague, Querétaro, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna, and Warsaw.

As ever, AWS hasn't offered any detail about where the Local Zones will run. The Register has looked up Equinix's data center list, as that company is a known collaborator with AWS, but the data center giant lacks facilities in many of the cities that will host Local Zones. Perhaps Amazon's cloudy business has multiple partners for this expansion.

Another detail AWS neglected to specify is the go-live date for the 32 planned Local Zones. But, true to form, it talked up their ability to improve matters for both individuals and the economies that host the new infrastructure. ®