Google launches first SEA Cloud Platform region
In this article (5)
Google has launched its first Google Cloud Platform (GCP) region in Southeast Asia. Named “asia-southeast1”, the region, located in Singapore, has been established in a bid to improve latency for both GCP customers and end users in or near Singapore.
The Singapore region is GCP’s third in Asia and primarily caters to customers in Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. GCP’s other two Asian regions are located in Taiwan and Tokyo. Google had initially intended to open a data center in Hong Kong but plans were abandoned in 2013 due to land availability issues.
According to a blog post by Dave Stiver, a product manager at GCP, customers in Southeast Asia can expect to enjoy between 51% and 98% improvements in round-trip time (RTT) latency, compared to using other GCP regions such as Taiwan and Tokyo.
Google already runs a data center in Singapore, and the addition of a second facility next to the first is expected to cater to an expanded customer base across all company sizes as GCP widens its footprint in the region.
Current GCP customers in the region include Blackberry Messenger (BM), Carousell and Go-Jek.
BM has selected IT services firm Pythian to assist in migrating its mission-critical infrastructure from Blackberry’s on-premise data centers in Canada to GCP in Asia. The move is aimed at catering to a significant increase in media consumption by its users worldwide, as the messaging platform seeks to move into the commerce and services space.
“We are excited to be able to deploy into the GCP Singapore region, as it will allow us to offer our services closer to BBM Messenger key markets. Coupled with Google’s global load balancers and extensive global network, we expect to be able to provide a low latency, high-speed experience for our users globally,” said Matthew Talbot, CEO of Creative Media Works, the company that runs the BBM Messenger Consumer service globally.
GCP also counts Carousell, Indonesia’s Go-Jek, Avaya, Adidas, Deloitte, HSBC and Netflix as customers.
Questions & Answers
Q.What primary benefit does Google expect customers in Southeast Asia to gain from the new Singapore region?
What primary benefit does Google expect customers in Southeast Asia to gain from the new Singapore region?
Customers in Southeast Asia should experience significant improvements in round-trip time (RTT) latency. This is expected to be between 51% and 98% compared to using other GCP regions such as Taiwan and Tokyo.
Q.Which specific cities are the main target for customers using the new Singapore GCP region?
Which specific cities are the main target for customers using the new Singapore GCP region?
The new Singapore GCP region primarily aims to serve customers located in Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok. It is GCP’s third region in Asia.
Q.Which company is relocating its critical infrastructure to the new GCP region in Asia, and for what reason?
Which company is relocating its critical infrastructure to the new GCP region in Asia, and for what reason?
Blackberry Messenger (BM) is migrating its mission-critical infrastructure to GCP in Asia. This move is to support a significant increase in media consumption and facilitate its expansion into commerce and services.
Q.Why did Google abandon its initial plans for a data centre in Hong Kong?
Why did Google abandon its initial plans for a data centre in Hong Kong?
Google's initial intention to open a data centre in Hong Kong was abandoned in 2013. The decision was made due to issues concerning the availability of suitable land.
Reader pulse
Google Cloud's SEA expansion:
19,726 votes so far