Google Cloud eyes new region in Malaysia as demand grows

Google Cloud plans to roll out its cloud region in Malaysia to meet the growing demand for cloud services locally and worldwide. The cloud region will be complemented by Google Cloud’s existing Dedicated Cloud Interconnect locations in Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur, which provide direct connections between an organisation’s on-premises network and Google Cloud’s global network.

When launched, Google said the Malaysia cloud region will deliver high-performance and low-latency services to local organisations, with three zones offering protection against service disruptions. Organisations will also benefit from key controls that allow them to maintain the highest security, data residency, and compliance standards, including specific data storage requirements.

Google Cloud will be supporting the Malaysian government's plans for the country’s next phase of economic development by providing local organisations with the enterprise-grade capabilities they need to accelerate digital transformation and forge new competitive advantages through the Malaysia cloud region.

The move follows research by AlphaBeta, commissioned by Google, which found that digital transformation if leveraged fully, could create up to RM257.2 billion in annual economic value in Malaysia by 2030. The amount would be the equivalent of 17% of local GDP in 2020.

Having recently signed a new Cloud Framework Agreement with the Malaysian government to advance public sector innovation, Google Cloud will continue to collaborate with the likes of Malaysia’s Ministry of Education and the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council.

This announcement comes shortly after the company added cloud regions to New Zealand, Mexico, and Thailand. The Malaysia cloud region will also be joining Google Cloud’s 11 existing regions across Asia Pacific and Japan, including two in Southeast Asia – Singapore and Jakarta. A+M has reached out to Google Cloud to find out the live date and location of the cloud region.

Malaysia’s minister of finance, Zafrul Abdul Aziz, said Malaysia is serious about achieving its digital ambitions, including the successful implementation of 5G to propel its technological capabilities onto the next level. "To that end, Google Cloud’s proposed establishment of a new cloud region in Malaysia will not only complement our digital initiatives but also directly empower businesses and individuals to achieve more through Google Cloud’s on-demand computing resources," he added.

According to him, this is also a sign that Malaysia's private-public sector partnership approach is attracting the right high-quality investments. "With the public sector already taking the lead through a cloud-first, cost-efficient strategy to develop citizen-centric services, we are confident that it is only a matter of time before the private sector follows suit in leveraging enablers like Google Cloud to capture new growth opportunities,” he added.

Yusof bin Ismail, director-general of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Planning Unit, said: “We’ve witnessed clearly in the past two years the instrumental role that cloud services can play in helping us respond nimbly to disruption. Going forward, where procuring and maintaining data centres is cost-prohibitive for most organisations, we expect the cloud to become the backbone for realizing our MyDIGITAL blueprint and aspirations of becoming a regional digital powerhouse by 2030.”

Ruma Balasubramanian, managing director of Google Cloud SEA, said: “A fast-growing startup ecosystem and the fact that eight in 10 Malaysians already use digital services in their daily lives is testament to the country's rich creativity, strong entrepreneurial spirit, and openness toward embracing new technologies,”

Southeast Asia is on its way to becoming a US$1 trillion digital economy by 2030, according to a 2021 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. The growth is propelled by a fast-growing base of digital consumers and merchants, acceleration in eCommerce and food delivery, and the region is further expected to reach approximately US$360 billion by 2025, outgrowing the earlier projection of US$300 billion.

The report also touted the region to be entering its "digital decade" as the Internet increasingly becomes an integral part of consumers’ daily lives. The region now has more than 440 million internet users, and importantly, 350 million of them, or about 80%, are digital consumers who have bought at least one online service. Since the pandemic began, SEA has added 60 million new digital consumers, of which 20 million joined in the first half of 2021 alone.

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