Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to invest £8 billion ($10.45 billion) in 2024-2028. to expand its cloud business in the UK. The company said the investment is part of its long-term commitment to supporting growth and productivity in the country and is estimated to add £14 billion to UK GDP by 2028, as well as supporting an average of more than 14,000 local jobs across the chain. AWS data center supplies.
Amazon launched its first AWS cloud region in the UK in December 2016. Over the past few years, the company has added three Availability Zones (AZs), two WaveLength Zones, two Edge Locations, and a Regional Edge Cache. During the period from 2020 to 2023, the company invested £3 billion in the country, providing jobs to 6 thousand residents.
AWS has launched similar long-term investment projects in Germany, Mexico, the USA, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. AWS, the world’s largest provider of cloud computing and storage services, is seeking to strengthen its position with investments amid growing competition from Microsoft, which is expanding its own global infrastructure.
Image source: AWS
AWS said in a press release that the investment will enable the UK to take full advantage of the growing benefits of cloud computing and AI. The total economic impact of cloud computing in the UK will exceed £42 billion in 2023, according to analysis by Telecom Advisory Services. This is equivalent to 1.6% of GDP. And that’s bigger than the UK car manufacturing sector.
According to the company, cloud computing has enabled startups, small businesses and government agencies to access the same technologies used by the largest enterprises, helping them innovate faster, reduce costs and compete on the global stage.
Image source: aboutamazon.co.uk
AWS also cites research from independent consulting firm Public First, in which it surveyed more than 2,000 business leaders and built a new economic model of the links between digital technology and business performance. According to a Public First survey, 84% of AWS customer respondents said they saved money by investing in cloud infrastructure, with an average savings of 28% compared to using on-premises infrastructure.
Respondents also said that using AWS reduces the time it takes to deploy new software by more than a quarter (27%). In addition, 82% of AWS customers believe that cloud computing has enabled them to grow their business globally, and 85% believe that cloud computing has made it easier for them to compete with larger companies.
Image source: AWS
In turn, The Register resource noted that the cloud giant’s investments are not at all disinterested. Last year, AWS increased UK revenue by 30.1% to £3.78 billion, and also received 76% more direct public sector revenue from the UK government during the previous financial year. In December last year, it became known that AWS had received a contract for cloud hosting services for the UK Home Office worth almost half a billion pounds sterling (£450,281,369).
However, Amazon was criticized for a lack of transparency regarding tax payments, since AWS UK revenues were presented as part of the Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL budget. The Guardian newspaper reported last year that cloud giant Amazon’s parent company paid no corporation tax for the second year in a row after receiving tax breaks on its infrastructure investments. It is also known that an antitrust investigation is currently underway in the UK regarding the possible use of antitrust practices by AWS.
Mark Boost, CEO of UK cloud operator Civo, criticized AWS’ investment, saying: “Expensive data center infrastructure and AI hardware are not made or sold by UK companies.” “Britain’s data center innovators deserve a fair chance to play their part in the country’s digital future, without becoming overly reliant on hyperscalers solely because of the scale they can offer,” he added.