Cloud giants AWS has partnered with Chinese local firm Ningxia Western Cloud Data Technology (NWCD) to expand their cloud units in China and increase their global market share. As per the deal, the new data centers built in Ningxia are built by NWCD’s affiliates using specifications provided by AWS.
Industry analysts had been speculating that AWS was ending their tryst with China by selling certain hardware assets to Beijing Sinnet Technology for USD 302 million two months ago. However, AWS has put an end to this notion by entering into a partnership with NWCD to provide cloud services to the customer base in China. This move, AWS says, was deliberately made in order to comply with the strict regulations imposed by the Chinese government earlier this year.
Shedding light on the nature of these events, Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS explained:
Chinese law forbids non-Chinese companies from owning or operating certain technology for the provision of cloud services. Together with our partner NWCD, and with a deep appreciation of the support we’ve received from the Zhongwei municipal government and Ningxia government, we’re excited to announce the launch of the AWS China (Ningxia) region, operated by NWCD. The second AWS region in China is part of AWS’s ongoing commitment to offer best-in-class cloud technologies to Chinese customers.
With this partnership, the AWS China Region (Ningxia), operated by NWCD will offer two availability zones. These availability zones are equipped with business continuity applications and are located at distinct geographies to reduce the risk of business failure.
Explaining this partnership, He Jian, Secretary of Zhongwei Municipal Committee, said:
We have developed a close collaboration with AWS based on mutual trust, and are delighted that our region is now offering highly resilient, high-performance data centers to enterprises across the nation. We have already seen a rapid growth in the cloud computing industry, and with the unique resources of Ningxia combined with the mature expertise of AWS Cloud, we will set a great example for economic transformation in the west of China.
AWS’ strategic alliance signals a possible competitive showdown against their Chinese rivals Aliyun, Alibaba’s cloud computing subsidiary. It would be interesting to witness how AWS put themselves ahead with the help of their local partners.