AWS Launches New AWS Local Zones location in Lagos, Nigeria

…AWS Local Zones help AWS customers deliver distributed edge and hybrid cloud applications that require single-digit millisecond latency to consumers in Lagos

…The Lagos State Government, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, and The Terragon Group are among customers and AWS Partners welcoming AWS Local Zones

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the launch of a new AWS Local Zones location in Lagos, Nigeria.

A statement by the company said AWS Local Zones are a type of infrastructure deployment that places AWS compute, storage, databases, and other services near large population, industry, and information technology (IT) centers⁠—enabling customers to deploy applications that require single-digit millisecond latency to end users or on-premises data centers.

The statement also noted that customers can run workloads with low latency requirements on AWS Local Zones while seamlessly connecting to the rest of their workloads running in AWS Regions.

The statement also revealed that AWS now has 32 AWS Local Zones around the world, with announced plans to launch 24 more Local Zones globally. To get started with AWS Local Zones.

The statement said: “For applications that require single-digit millisecond latency or have to remain within a geographic boundary for regulatory reasons, the location of cloud infrastructure matters. Most customer workloads run in an AWS Region, a geographic location where AWS clusters data centers to serve customers. However, when a Region is not close enough to meet low latency or data residency requirements, customers need AWS infrastructure closer to their data source or end users.

“Traditionally, organizations maintained these location-sensitive workloads on premises or in managed data centers that required customers to procure, operate, and maintain their own IT infrastructure, and use different sets of APIs and tools for their on-premises and AWS environments.

“The launch of the new AWS Local Zones location in Lagos means customers can easily deploy applications located close to end users in the metro area. Having AWS Local Zones close to large population centers in metro areas enables customers to achieve the low latency required for use cases like online gaming, live streaming, and augmented and virtual reality.

“AWS Local Zones can also help customers operating in regulated sectors like healthcare, financial services, and public sector that might have preferences or requirements to keep data within a geographic boundary.

“AWS manages and supports AWS Local Zones, meaning customers do not incur the expense and effort of procuring, operating, and maintaining infrastructure in various cities to support low latency applications. AWS Local Zones can also help organizations migrate additional workloads to AWS, supporting a hybrid cloud migration strategy and simplifying IT operations. Customers can connect to AWS Local Zones through an internet connection, and they can use AWS Direct Connect for secure, private network connections to both AWS Local Zones and any AWS Region.

The AWS Regional Public Sector Lead for West, East, and Central Africa, Robin Njiru said: “With today’s launch of a new AWS Local Zones location in Lagos, we are proud to bring the cloud closer to AWS customers, so they can deploy latency-sensitive workloads and meet local data residency requirements. “We have designed Local Zones to support a broad range of use cases from trading applications that need to respond quickly to market fluctuations to interactive live event and gaming experiences. Customers in a variety of industries can now deliver new innovative services and experiences to their end users, all with familiar AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools.”

The AWS Local Zones location in Lagos is Nigeria’s newest addition to its AWS infrastructure, which already includes local offices, Amazon CloudFront edge locations, and AWS Outposts.

Customers and AWS Partners welcome AWS Local Zones in Lagos

The Lagos State Government welcomes the arrival of AWS Local Zones in Lagos. Commissioner Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology, Hakeem Popoola Fahm, said: “The launch of the AWS Local Zone location in Lagos is a significant milestone for our regional enterprises and digital transformation agenda. The services available with AWS Local Zones will promote and accelerate the introduction of new digital solutions at our technology and engineering location in the heart of Lagos.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Demola Sogunle, said: “Being a future-ready organization goes beyond being able to deploy new solutions for the benefit of our customers. It also means building reliability into our business and customer offerings through the use of AWS compute, storage, and on-demand scaling. This is why we have chosen to work with AWS, one of the world’s leading cloud service providers, to achieve this important objective.”

The Co-Founder and CTO at The Terragon Group, Ayodeji Balogun, said “Every single day, AWS helps us scale globally and take advantage of new technological opportunities. The launch of an AWS Local Zones location in Lagos is something we have been looking forward to because it offers fast, secure access to AWS services that help us deliver low latency access to our applications running locally.”