AWS plans major Local Zones expansion to deliver ultra-low latency globally | ZDNet

Amazon Web Services on Wednesday announced a major, global expansion of AWS Local Zones. After launching Local Zones in 16 US cities, the cloud provider is now planning to open Local Zones in 32 new metro areas in 26 countries, delivering single-digit millisecond latency performance while helping customers meet data residency requirements. 

Local Zones are a type of infrastructure that brings certain AWS services very close to a particular geographic area, industry or IT center. The service is just one example of the way computing is increasingly moving to the “distributed edge.” 

The new Local Zones will serve customers in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. 

Some customers have been using AWS Local Zones to ensure low latency for customers in different parts of the country. For instance, the Finland-based mobile game developer Supercell uses Local Zones in the US to bring the latency-sensitive portions of game servers closer to end users. Customers can also use Local Zones to bring cloud services closer to their existing branch offices or data centers. 

Each Local Zone is managed by a control plane in its “parent” region. Customers outside the US will be able to use Local Zones to meet data residency requirements in regulated sectors like health care and life sciences, financial services and government.

The new AWS Local Zones are slated to launch in: Amsterdam, Athens, Auckland, Bangkok, Bengaluru, Berlin, Bogotá, Brisbane, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hanoi, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Kolkata, Lima, Lisbon, Manila, Munich, Nairobi, Oslo, Perth, Prague, Querétaro, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna, and Warsaw. 

Local Zones are currently open in the following US cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle.