Amazon’s AWS is investing £8 billion in UK data centres, intensifying competition among cloud providers.
- AWS holds about a third of the UK’s public cloud market and plans significant investment to support the UK economy.
- This investment aims to contribute £14 billion to UK GDP and sustain approximately 14,000 full-time local jobs.
- Increased regulatory scrutiny and competition shape the landscape for cloud providers in the UK market.
- The UK government is receptive to new data centre projects, aiming to boost economic growth.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), a major player in the cloud computing industry, has pledged a substantial investment of £8 billion into the development and maintenance of British data centres over the next five years. As AWS already controls around one-third of the UK’s public cloud infrastructure, this bold move seeks to consolidate its position as a leader in the market.
The planned investment is expected to bolster the UK economy by as much as £14 billion through to 2028. This injection of capital is projected to create and maintain over 14,000 full-time jobs annually across local businesses in the UK, highlighting AWS’s commitment to supporting and engaging with the regional economy.
Tanuja Randery, Vice President and Managing Director of AWS EMEA, articulated the significance of this investment, stating, “The next few years could be among the most pivotal for the UK’s digital and economic future,” emphasising how technologies like cloud computing and AI are vital for innovation and global competitiveness.
AWS’s decision emerges in the context of increasing competition and regulatory scrutiny. In late 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority launched a detailed investigation into the cloud services sector, focusing on how companies like Amazon might be preventing fair competition. Concerns include high exit fees and raised barriers to switching providers, which might unfairly disadvantage smaller firms.
The UK government’s stance is one of openness towards the construction of new data centres, as exemplified by the review launched by Levelling Up secretary Angela Rayner into obstructed data centre projects. This reflects the government’s ambition to foster infrastructure development to drive economic growth.
Overall, the AWS investment signifies a crucial development in the UK cloud computing landscape, where major technology firms are increasingly being held to stringent standards, balancing growth with fair competition.
AWS’s £8 billion commitment underscores the strategic importance and competitive nature of the UK’s cloud market.
