Google inaugurates its first cloud region in Mexico; the third in Latin America

Google today announced the official opening and start of operations of its new cloud region in Querétaro, Mexico. And he did it with all the display, in the Bankers Club of Mexico City, with the presence of clients, businessmen and officials, including Altagracia Gómez Sierra, the bridge between the private initiative and the new Administration of Claudia Sheinbaum.

It is not for less. This new cloud region in Querétaro – the Mexican state where the giants Amazon and Microsoft have also installed data centers – becomes Google Cloud number 41 in the world and the third in the region, joining Santiago de Chile. and São Paulo, in Brazil. Digital infrastructure will provide companies and organizations with even faster access to advanced cloud technologies, with low latency and high performance.

Also in the Bankers Club was Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, who announced that, as part of its social commitment, the company will offer one million scholarships for free online courses on artificial intelligence, covering topics such as machine learning, deep learning and development of applications with AI, with the aim of equipping people with the necessary skills to participate in the technological revolution. In addition to training talent, the new cloud region in Querétaro is projected as an engine of economic growth, generating more than 100,000 jobs and contributing more than $11 billion to GDP by 2030, according to an analysis carried out by the firm AlphaBeta Economics.

“This new region in Querétaro not only expands our infrastructure, but also brings us closer to offering the latest in cloud technology to our clients in Latin America. We see the cloud as the gateway to the future of AI, where companies will be able to develop, use and scale these technologies to innovate and compete globally,” said Eduardo López, president of Google Cloud Latin America. “At Google Cloud we want to be the partner strategic of companies that are digitally transformed. And we do it with a strong commitment to sustainability. Since 2017 we have used 100% renewable energy in our operations. But we go further: our goal is that by 2030, all our operations, including this new region in Mexico, run on carbon-free energy 24 hours a day, 360 days a year.”

Mexico’s cloud region also opens new opportunities for the ecosystem of partners from Google Cloud which, at a global level, has 100,000 partners who have various business models.

“At Google Cloud we are convinced that this new region in Querétaro will be an engine of transformation for Mexico. We not only provide cutting-edge infrastructure, but we also drive the country’s economic growth. By facilitating access to cloud technologies we are empowering companies Mexicans to innovate, compete globally and contribute to a more prosperous digital future. We trust that the country’s companies and organizations will know how to capitalize on this opportunity and we are here to help them build an ecosystem where innovation and digital leadership multiply,” commented Julio Velázquez, general director of Google Cloud Mexico.

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Latin America already has 16 cloud regions

With the opening of this new cloud region announced in 2022, Latin America has 16 public cloud regions in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia, operated by Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Oracle, Huawei and Google. These cloud regions, which group together data centers known as availability zones, allow data to be stored and processed locally, reducing latency and improving security, in addition to complying with data sovereignty regulations.

Microsoft, which already operates two regions in Latin America, recently opened its first region in Mexico, located in Querétaro, and plans to open another in Chile. The company has a total of 60 cloud regions worldwide. Oracle, for its part, leads in the number of regions with seven, including two in Mexico (Querétaro and Monterrey), two in Brazil, two in Chile and one in Colombia. AWS has operated since 2011 in São Paulo and plans to open its first region in Mexico in 2025 with an investment of $5 billion. Huawei manages five main regions in Latin America, which include nine availability zones, being the provider with the most connectivity points in the region. Google has two regions in São Paulo and Santiago, and now in Querétaro.

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Querétaro will concentrate data centers

The Mexican state of Querétaro is in the process of establishing dozens of data centers, some of which are already operational. Just this November 27, the Secretary of Sustainable Development (Sedesu), Marco Antonio Del Prete Tercero, said that Querétaro is preparing “to receive between 10 and 12 new data center projects.”

These facilities, together, will require an energy demand of 600 megawatts and will represent investments that exceed 10,000 million dollars in the next 10 years. Right now, the state has 18 operational data centers that consume an energy load of 200 megawatts. Colón, to name one example, is home to Microsoft’s first large-scale data center campus in the country.