Amazon Web Services has officially launched its first cloud region in New Zealand, implementing plans first announced in 2021 to invest NZ$7.5 billion in building and operating data centers in the country. The new AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region consists of three availability zones and offers a comprehensive range of cloud services, enabling local organizations to meet data residency requirements while accessing advanced technologies.
First infrastructure region in New Zealand
AWS has officially launched its new cloud region in New Zealand, implementing plans first announced in 2021 to invest 7.5 billion New Zealand dollars (US$4.4 billion) to build and operate data centers in the country, according to Light Reading. The new AWS Asia-Pacific (New Zealand) Region consists of three availability zones and is now open to businesses in New Zealand. It offers a range of services, including analytics, computing, content delivery, databases, generative AI, machine learning, networking, storage, and other cloud technologies.
“The new AWS Regionย in New Zealand will help serve the growing demand for cloud services across the country and empower organizations of all sizes to accelerate their digital transformation,” Prasad Kalyanaraman, AWS’s vice president of infrastructure services, said in a statement. “With this launch, businesses can now leverage advanced AWS technologies while meeting local data residency requirements,” he added.
Data centers located around Auckland
At the launch event in Auckland on Tuesday, AWS confirmed that the data centers were “live” but did not disclose their location for security reasons. “They’re in and around Auckland, so we have enough distance to withstand a scenario like flooding and power outage, but it’s close enough for low latency,” said Manuel Bohnet, AWS’ country manager for New Zealand, as quoted by Radio New Zealand.
Today, I’m pleased toย share the general availability of the AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region with three Availability Zones and API nameย ap-southeast-6, according to AWS News Blog. With the new Region, customers can now run workloads and securely store data in New Zealand while serving end users with even lower latency. The new AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region will help organizations run their applications and serve end users while maintaining data residency in New Zealand.
Major economic impact expected
AWS estimates that its new cloud region will contribute approximately NZ$10.8 billion (6.32 billion) to New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) and support an average of more than 1,000 full-time jobs in fields such as facility maintenance, engineering, and telecommunications. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended the launch event and welcomed the new cloud region, calling it a significant investment in the country.
“I’m celebrating the factย that we’ve got a big international investor here in New Zealand. That’s what we want to see a lot more of and it’s consistent with the focus of this government, which is to welcome investment in this country because it drives jobs,” the prime minister told local media. New Zealand is seeking to attract foreign investment to stimulate its economy, which has slid into a deep recession.
Comprehensive customer adoption
According to AWS, the first customers of the new cloud region include MP New Zealand, AsureQuality, Contact Energy, Education Perfect, Foodstuffs South Island, Halter, Kiwibank, MATTR, Mercury NZ, Les Mills, Ministry of Transport, Mitre 10 New Zealand, New Zealand Post, One New Zealand, Sharesies, Steel & Tube Holdings, Toitลซ Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand, TradeMe, TVNZ, University of Auckland, Vector, Wellington City Council, Xero and more.
AWS’s launch of its New Zealand cloud region represents a significant milestone for the country’s digital transformation, providing local organizations with access to world-class cloud infrastructure while maintaining data sovereignty. The NZ$7.5 billion investment demonstrates AWS’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific market and positions New Zealand as a key technology hub.