AWS launches New Zealand cloud region with $7.5b investment

Pictured above: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon with Rianne van Veldhuizen, VP of AWS ANZ, and Manuel Bohnet, AWS Country Manager for NZ.

Amazon Web Services has launched its NZ$7.5b AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region, a move the company says will create 1,000 jobs, boost GDP by nearly $11b, and give Kiwi organisations faster, local access to cloud services.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has officially launched the AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region, a move Prime Minister Christopher Luxon describes as “immense and historic” for the country’s economy and technology sector.

The new AWS Region gives Kiwi businesses – from start-ups to large enterprises and government agencies – the ability to run workloads, store data locally, and deliver digital services with lower latency. Customers including Xero, TVNZ, Kiwibank, the University of Auckland, and Wellington City Council are among those already running workloads on AWS in New Zealand.

The investment is part of Amazon’s long-term commitment to Aotearoa, with more than NZ$7.5 billion earmarked for construction, operations, and maintenance of its data centres. AWS says the region will support an average of 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs annually and contribute approximately NZ$10.8 billion to New Zealand’s GDP.

“The new AWS Region in New Zealand will help serve the growing demand for cloud services across the country and empower organisations of all sizes to accelerate their digital transformation,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice President of Infrastructure Services at AWS.

“By investing in New Zealand’s digital infrastructure, we’re proud to support the country’s economic growth, foster innovation, and help position it as a technology hub in the Asia Pacific region.”

Prime Minister Luxon, speaking at the AWS Cloud Days event, said the scale of the investment makes it one of the most significant technology developments in New Zealand’s history.

“You are the lifeblood of New Zealand business and we need to power up,” Luxon told attendees.

“We are going to build the most advanced small country on Earth and for that to happen, government, partnering with business, and with the community is how we’re going to get that job done.

“The investment today by AWS of $7.5 billion New Zealand dollars … is immense and it is historic. It will have a significant impact on our GDP. It will create up to 1,000 jobs, and it will deliver more than almost $11 billion worth of boost to our GDP and it is confidence that shows that New Zealand is a great place for investment for the future.”

Luxon said AWS’s decision signals New Zealand’s growing role as a digital hub in the Asia Pacific region.

“For our small and medium enterprises, it’s about having the tools to scale globally and to become more productive, for our public sector, it means enhanced security, performance, and resilience … and for our young people, it’s a tremendous signal that the future of work and the future of technology is being built right here at home.”

Graeme Muller, CEO of NZTech, called the launch “an exciting moment” for the local technology sector.

“This investment in digital infrastructure and Amazon’s commitment to digital skills can accelerate New Zealand technology businesses and help New Zealanders to move into highly skilled, secure, and well-paid technology jobs—which exist right across the economy, from tech companies to various sectors including agriculture, finance, retail, professional services, government, and many more.”

Government Chief Digital Officer Paul James also welcomed the development, noting that “the launch of Data Centre initiatives in New Zealand promises significant economic benefits, such as job creation and fostering technological innovation.”

AWS confirmed that the new region consists of three Availability Zones at launch, with data centres powered from day one by renewable energy through a long-term agreement with Mercury NZ’s Turitea South wind farm.

The company has also committed, through a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Government, to train 100,000 New Zealanders in cloud skills. More than 50,000 people have already completed training programmes under AWS Academy, AWS Educate, and AWS Skill Builder.

Luxon summed up the launch as “a major milestone, not just in terms of size, but in what it represents. It’s a vote of confidence in New Zealand as a place to do business, to innovate, and to build for the long term.”