Alibaba Cloud has unveiled its second data center in Thailand on Thursday, reinforcing its commitment to meeting the surging demand for cloud services, particularly in the era of Generative AI, and supporting the government’s initiatives to foster digital innovation and sustainable technology development.
The dual data centers will enable Alibaba Cloud to provide scalable, elastic, and highly available cloud computing products with enhanced disaster recovery capabilities tailored to the nation’s dynamic digital landscape while adhering to stringent security and regulatory standards.
Alibaba Cloud set up its first data center in Thailand in 2022. With this launch, Alibaba Cloud now operates 86 availability zones across 28 regions globally, solidifying its position as a leading cloud service provider in Southeast Asia.
This expansion follows the company’s announcement last May to expand its data center network across Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and a cloud region in Mexico.
“Our latest data center strengthens our commitment to providing reliable, secure, and high-performance cloud services tailored to the needs of local businesses,” said Sean Yuan, Vice President of International Business, General Manager of Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and South Pacific Region, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.
“With enhanced local infrastructure, we aim to empower enterprises to leverage the full potential of cloud technology, especially in generative AI applications,” he added.
AI adoption in Thailand is surging, with 17.8% of organizations already implementing it and 73.3% planning to do so, according to the 2024 AI Readiness for Digital Services Survey. The top goals include improving internal management, enhancing work efficiency, and adding value to products or services.
Innovative Solutions for Local Businesses
Alibaba Cloud is expanding its portfolio of cloud computing services in Thailand, including elastic computing, storage, database, security, network products, data analytics, and AI solutions, to address industry-specific challenges.
Thai businesses, particularly in fintech and retail, can leverage AnalyticDB’s cloud-native vector engine to create enterprise-grade retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions that improve customer interactions via customized large language model (LLM) applications. This allows companies to build dedicated knowledge bases, manage structured and unstructured data efficiently, and develop tailored chatbots with intelligent Q&A and personalized product recommendations.
The newly introduced Alibaba Cloud Container Compute Service (ACS) simplifies workload deployment with a serverless Kubernetes environment. It boosts operational efficiency and allows businesses to focus on innovation while managing costs.
Additionally, Alibaba Cloud offers a range of industry-specific solutions, such as Workspace Elastic Desktop Service (EDS), eKYC solutions, SuperApp, and AI-driven sustainability solutions, catering to sectors like fintech, retail, and public services.
Supporting Diverse Clients in Thailand
Alibaba Cloud has played a pivotal role in supporting Thai businesses in the technology, media, retail, fintech, and public sectors. It helps them enhance operational efficiency, accelerate digital transformation, and better serve their customers.
True Digital Group, a core business of True Corporation Plc., one of Thailand’s leading Telecom-Tech companies, has leveraged Alibaba Cloud’s proven and trustworthy cloud computing products, particularly in database and container technologies, to enhance the efficiency, stability, and scalability of its energy platform.
Yell Group, a leading creative digital company headquartered in Thailand, has formed a transformative partnership with Alibaba Cloud to enhance its storyboard AI platform, AI-Deate. This collaboration seeks to revolutionize creative workflows using generative AI technologies, empowering creators in 102 countries to develop innovative applications while addressing work-life balance challenges in the digital age.
“This strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud allows us to harness advanced AI capabilities, transforming how we empower creatives,” said Dissara Udomdej, CEO of Yell Group, “Together, we are set to redefine the creative landscape across Asia and beyond.”
Codium, a prominent software company in Thailand specializing in digital workplace solutions, has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to utilize its scalable infrastructure. This collaboration aims to establish a strong digital foundation for businesses in Thailand and improve the local cloud market ecosystem through accessible cloud services and comprehensive support for Thai clients.
“Collaborating with Alibaba Cloud has allowed us to provide our customers with flexible and scalable digital workplace solutions,” said Sivabudh Umpudh, CEO of Codium, “Their infrastructure not only supports our growth, but also enhances our ability to serve the unique needs of Thai businesses.”
White Channel, a well-known television broadcasting and OTT service provider in Thailand, has optimized its video-on-demand platform by implementing Alibaba Cloud’s end-to-end video streaming service, ApsaraVideo VOD. This partnership enables White Channel to deliver high-quality video playback without latency, utilizing a global CDN and scalable storage solutions to manage its extensive content library effectively, even during surge traffic periods.
“Working with Alibaba Cloud has significantly improved our ability to deliver seamless video services to our audience,” said Chawalit Ueaferua, Head of IT Department of White Channel, “Their cutting-edge technology ensures that our viewers receive high-quality content, anytime and anywhere.”
Fostering Local Ecosystem and Digital Talent
Alibaba Cloud is actively nurturing the local ecosystem by partnering with approximately 70 local partners, including Cloud HM, Kaopanwa, Softdebut, Thai Data Cloud, and True IDC, to empower the digital transformation of businesses across Thailand.
The company is also committed to fostering digital talent through collaborations with local universities including Chulalongkorn University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Prince of Songkla University and Bangkok University, offering workshops and certified courses in cloud computing and generative AI. In late 2023, Alibaba Cloud launched its first global skills center at Chulalongkorn University, which provides free training courses, boot camps, AI competitions, and leadership development programs. These initiatives are part of Alibaba Cloud’s ongoing efforts to enhance educational resources and promote a thriving digital landscape through further collaborations with local institutions.
