Amazon to spend $7.5 billion on Auckland cloud data centres

September 23, 2021
The online store is promising a kiwi flavour but stores here are worried about the further competition.

Amazon will spend $7.5 billion on building three Auckland-based cloud computing data centres. 

Its Amazon Web Services (AWS) arm announced plans to open in New Zealand in 2024.

Currently, the technology company's cloud services are used in more than 190 countries around the world. 

It said its decision will enable even more developers, startups, and enterprises - as well as government, education, and non-profit organisations - to run their applications and serve users from data centres located here.

This will let customers who want to keep their data in New Zealand are able to do so, AWS said.

An economic impact study it had done estimates its Auckland centres will create 1000 new jobs through an investment of $7.5 billion. 

AWS said over the next 15 years, the economic impact on New Zealand's GDP would be about $10.8 billion.

"Our investments reflect AWS’s deep and long-term commitment to Aotearoa. We are excited to build new world-class infrastructure locally, train New Zealanders with in-demand digital skills, and continue to help local organisations deliver applications that accelerate digital transformation and fuel economic growth," AWS CEO Adam Selipsky said.

David Clark and Jacinda Ardern.

David Clark, Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, has welcomed AWS's decision. 

"Amazon is the second major global tech provider to invest heavily in establishing a Cloud Region in New Zealand, bringing with it new jobs, exciting new opportunities for the digital sector, and further acceleration to our economic recovery from Covid-19," he said.

"Today’s news means that the Government, local businesses and communities, will soon have access to the scale and security of two of the world’s biggest Cloud service providers, from here in Aotearoa.

"Protecting Kiwis’ data and privacy is critically important to the Government. Onshore Cloud facilities give us stronger control of New Zealand’s data because it is held here, where our laws and protections apply.

"This is a step forward for New Zealand’s digital maturity, as we all increasingly adjust to the increasingly digital world."

Clark pointed out AWS's decision was its own and is not a government procurement. 

The Prime Minister's office called it "an incredibly exciting development for New Zealand". 

"This major investment in cloud services recognises we’re a great place to do business. It also opens up a whole host of opportunities, as cloud-based technologies play an important part in our increasingly digital economy."

Customers in New Zealand already get Amazon services through the Hawaiki Submarine Cable, a 15,000 kilometre trans-Pacific cable system in operation since 2018.

It provides a low-latency and high-bandwidth connection from Australia to New Zealand and the US.

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