Amazon To Invest GBP 8 Bln In UK To Expand AWS Data Centers

(RTTNews) - Amazon Web Services or AWS, the cloud computing division of e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc., announced plans to invest 8 billion pounds or around $10.45 billion over the next five years, to build, operate and maintain data centers in the U.K.

The move is estimated to contribute 14 billion pounds to the UK's total Gross Domestic Product or GDP over the next five years through to 2028.

The investment will also add more than 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs annually at local UK businesses. The expected positions would be part of the AWS data centre supply chain. This would range from construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and other jobs within the broader local economy.

AWS, which first launched an AWS Region in the UK in December 2016, has continued to expand the Region over the last few years. At present, there are three Availability Zones, two WaveLength Zones, two Edge Locations, and a Regional Edge Cache in the region.

AWS noted that organisations of all sizes and across all industries are using its Cloud computing services to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster. AWS' major customers in UK include AstraZeneca, Cancer Research UK, Deliveroo, easyJet, EDF, Genomics England, Just Eat, Monzo, Natural History Museum, NatWest Group, and Sainsbury's, among others.

Since 2020, AWS has invested over 3 billion pounds in the UK, which is estimated to have supported an average of more than 6,000 FTE jobs at local businesses.

With the latest investment, AWS's total planned investment in the UK from 2020-2028 would be more than 11 billion pounds.

According to Tanuja Randery, Vice President and Managing Director, Europe, Middle East & Africa at AWS, the next few years could be among the most pivotal for the UK's digital and economic future as organisations of all sizes increasingly embrace technologies like cloud computing and AI, to boost innovation, productivity, and competetion.

In recent developments, AWS in June announced that it is launching an infrastructure region in Taiwan by early 2025, with plans to invest billions of dollars in the country over the next 15 years.

Earlier in May, Amazon, as part of France's annual "Choose France" business summit, said it plans to invest more than 1.2 billion euros or $1.3 billion in its French operations for AWS to increase cloud infrastructure to support generative AI opportunity, and logistics infrastructure.