AWS Expands Network, Opens Local Zone in Queretaro

Cloud computing continues to grow in demand in Mexico, having already hit critical mass to change the country’s enterprises and government institutions. Given the high demand, Amazon Web Services (AWS) formally announced a new Local Zone (LZ) in Queretaro, which will allow it to expand its network and provide high availability and infrastructure for cloud users worldwide. 

Mexican companies and government institutions are rapidly adopting public cloud services. Just in the IT market, the adoption of these services increased fourfold, exceeding the size of many traditional segments, says consulting firm Select. The company has repeatedly surveyed 300 CIOs on how much they use the public cloud. In 2017, only 17% were advanced in cloud adoption. By 2023, 45% are already using it and by 2026, this number is expected to reach 58%. Currently, the use of the cloud is growing annually by 27% and over US$1.8 billion is being invested by companies in public cloud services, reports the firm. This budget is higher than what the government allocated for technology in 2023.

AWS reports that it identified customer needs that could be addressed to improve their experience while using cloud services, allowing more clients to join the cloud. Customers need to be able to deploy loads with low latency. They want to start modernizing and many also want their data to be hosted in their own countries, a service that could be supported by LZ. These are a type of AWS infrastructure deployment that places computing, storage, database and other select services closer to a large population, industry and IT centers, enabling the user to deliver applications that require single-digit millisecond latency to end-users. AWS has installed LZs in several cities including Lima, Peru, and Queretaro, Mexico, for a total of 32 LZs, 15 of those located outside the US. 

“The cloud is very important to us and we have worked with governments and companies worldwide to take this innovation to another level. The cloud brings agility and productivity. Through this scale network, hundreds of thousands of servers allow us to provide computing services at a very low cost. The cloud is an extremely elastic and flexible solution that does not have to incur a permanent cost,” says Guillermo Almada, General Manager of the Public Sector for Mexico, AWS. 

The decision to open a LZ in Queretaro follows a long analysis and study of several parameters. The city was chosen because Mexico offered several advantages over other countries, says AWS. The center expects a high demand from the health sector, the federal government and the financial sector, which can evolve by implementing the cloud within their operations.