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Today we are excited to announce that the AWS Asia Pacific (Thailand) region is now generally available with three Availability Zones and the API name ap-southeast-7.
The AWS Asia Pacific (Thailand) region is the first infrastructure region in Thailand and the fourteenth region in Asia Pacific, joining the existing regions in Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mumbai, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo . and also the Chinese regions of Beijing and Ningxia.
Lumphini Park, one of the largest green spaces in central Bangkok with an area of 142 acres.
The adoption of cloud computing has gained significant momentum in Thailand due to evolving business needs and government initiatives such as Thailand 4.0. These initiatives aim to transform Thailand into an innovation-driven economy using new technologies to increase productivity, competitiveness and sustainable growth.
The new AWS region will help startups, enterprises, government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations run their applications and serve end users while maintaining data residency in Thailand. This is in line with Thailand’s digital transformation goals and growing demand for cloud services. Over the next 15 years, Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) planned investments in Thailand are estimated to contribute $10 billion to Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) and support an estimated average of 11,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in local Thai businesses annually . .
Growing AWS presence in Thailand
Our journey in Thailand started in 2013 with the first AWS office in Bangkok. Since then, AWS has continuously expanded its infrastructure and services in the country:
Amazon CloudFront – As of 2020, AWS has established six Amazon CloudFront branch offices throughout Thailand. These edge locations are part of the highly secure and programmable AWS Content Delivery Network (CDN), which is designed to accelerate the delivery of data, video, applications, and APIs to users around the world with low latency and high throughput.
AWS site – In the same year, 2020, AWS introduced AWS Outposts to the Thai market. As a fully managed solution, AWS Outposts bring AWS infrastructure and services to virtually any on-premises or edge location, enabling a truly consistent hybrid experience. This service is especially valuable for workloads that require low latency, local data processing, or local data storage.
Local AWS zones – In 2022, AWS strengthened its commitment to Thailand by launching local AWS zones in Bangkok. This infrastructure deployment places compute, storage, database, and other select services closer to large populations, industry, and IT centers. As a result, customers can deliver applications requiring single-digit millisecond latency to end users.
AWS direct connection – AWS established an AWS Direct Connect location in Bangkok in 2023 to improve connectivity, and added a new AWS Direct Connect location with the launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Thailand) region. Customers can use AWS Direct Connect to create a secure and dedicated network connection to their AWS resources, providing better network performance and lower bandwidth costs.
AWS Customer Success Stories in Thailand
Organizations in Thailand use our services to drive innovation and transformation. Here are some examples:
2C2P
2C2P, a leading Thai FinTech startup, supports AWS for its robust security capabilities. As a multi-channel payment service provider in Southeast Asia, the company processes millions of customer payments worldwide using AWS CloudHSM for cryptographic key management, AWS Shield for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection, and AWS Secrets Manager for protecting sensitive credentials.
“Through AWS, we’ve unlocked the ability to scale securely, dynamically and compliantly to meet the growth in payment transaction volume. AWS CloudHSM plays a key role in meeting compliance requirements and driving us to accelerate business expansion,” says Myo Zaw, CTO of 2C2P.
aCommerce
aCommerce, the largest e-commerce enabler in Southeast Asia, has revolutionized market intelligence with the launch of AskIQ, an AI-powered generative feature on AWS. This software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform provides global brands with comprehensive competitor and category performance tracking capabilities across Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce sites.
Leena Chanvirach, vice president of data products at aCommerce Group, emphasizes the strategic value of their collaboration with AWS: “Our collaboration with AWS enables clients to double down on their core competencies and business priorities. This best-of-both-worlds approach gives brands a competitive advantage without the burden of building and maintaining a sophisticated data infrastructure in-house.”
The Rise of Money
Ascend Money, a leading FinTech company in Southeast Asia, achieved a 70 percent reduction in computing costs while improving application performance by up to 40 percent in certain workloads. Ascend Money implemented a sophisticated computing strategy using Amazon EC2 instances, resulting in significant operational improvements.
“AWS has significantly improved our performance, allowing us to provide more innovative services to our customers,” says Peerawit Phuangkaeo, Head of Technical Operations at Ascend Money.
Building cloud skills together
AWS has built comprehensive cloud education and skills development programs in Thailand and has trained more than 50,000 individuals in cloud skills as of 2017. Here are some of the programs:
AWS Skill Builder
AWS Skill Builder is an online learning center where you can learn from AWS experts and build cloud skills online. AWS has made cloud education accessible to Thai language learners by offering more than 600 courses, with 106 courses specifically available in Thai. The recent launch of the Amazon AI Ready initiative has further expanded learning opportunities, particularly in the growing field of AI.
AWS Educate
Since its introduction in 2016, AWS Educate has played a transformative role in Thai education. The program has successfully integrated cloud computing into educational curricula across Thailand, providing students with direct access to AWS resources and hands-on experience. The impact has been significant, with more than 20,000 Thai students enrolled in the program. In addition to educating students, AWS Educate has invested in training Thai educators and preparing them to deliver engaging and practical cloud computing courses that will prepare students for the demands of the digital economy.
AWS Academy
AWS Academy has been helping to connect academic education with industry needs since its launch in Thailand in 2017. Through strategic partnerships with more than 30 leading universities and colleges across the country, AWS Academy has built a robust pool of cloud-skilled professionals. The program provides educational institutions with a comprehensive cloud computing curriculum that aligns with industry needs and ensures that students graduate with practical, job-ready skills.
Through these various initiatives and programs, AWS not only provides educational resources, but builds the foundation for Thailand’s digital future by helping to equip the workforce with the necessary skills to effectively use cloud technologies.
Promoting sustainable innovation in Thailand
AWS’s commitment to sustainability extends to supporting innovative companies in Thailand that are driving green initiatives.
BODA technology and consulting
BODA, an AWS-backed sustainability startup, uses AWS IoT Core to develop AI-based solutions to optimize energy efficiency. The company has successfully improved operations in more than 100,000 buildings and factories across Thailand, enabling these facilities to maximize efficiency while reducing costs and environmental impact.
GPSC group
GPSC Group, a leading sustainable energy company in Thailand, shows how AWS supports the digital transformation of the energy sector. Following the merger between Global Power Synergy Public Company and Glow Energy, the group chose AWS Cloud to migrate its PV solar plant operations. Working with AWS and AWS Partner Dailitech, GPSC Group has achieved a 20-25 percent reduction in hardware, software and license costs since moving to the cloud.
Things you should know
AWS community in Thailand — Thailand is home to two AWS Heroes, seven AWS Community Builders, and more than 17,000 AWS User Group members. If you are interested in joining the AWS User Group Thailand, please visit their Facebook page.
AWS global footprint — AWS now covers 111 Availability Zones in 35 geographies around the world. We announced plans for an additional 15 Availability Zones and five additional AWS Regions in Germany, Taiwan, Mexico, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and New Zealand.
The new Asia Pacific (Thailand) region is ready to support your business. To learn more, visit AWS Global Infrastructure and start building further ap-southeast-7!
Happy building!
— Donnie
