Oracle launches cloud region in Singapore, invests US$3m in startup credits

ORACLE has opened a new cloud region in Singapore to meet growing demand for enterprise cloud services in South-east Asia. The American software company said its reach has been expanded to 33 cloud regions globally.

As part of the launch, Oracle is offering 100 startups US$30,000 each in Oracle Cloud credits over the next two years. It is also providing free Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) training and certifications until end-March 2022.

"We've witnessed triple-digit growth in the business last year and want to help customers innovate and modernise, while helping them address in-country data residency requirements," said Garrett Ilg, president for Asia-Pacific and Japan at Oracle.

OCI helps customers move their existing complex, mission-critical workloads and data platforms to the cloud, and build new cloud-native applications, Oracle said. Customers will also have access to the full suite of Oracle Cloud applications.

Oracle plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022. Upcoming cloud regions include Milan, Stockholm, Spain, Mexico and Colombia. Additional second regions will open in Saudi Arabia, France, Israel and Chile.

Cloud infrastructure companies are muscling into South-east Asia as the region experiences a digital economy boom. Tencent Cloud launched its first data centre in Indonesia this year while Alibaba Cloud is building its first data centre in the Philippines.

Tech startups are also regarded as the next frontier of growth for the cloud computing business. Besides Oracle, Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud have announced startup initiatives of their own.

Microsoft's strategic investment in Grab in 2018 resulted in Grab adopting Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform. GoTo is tapping Google Cloud for its next phase of growth.