When I look at the AWS Global Infrastructure map I’m surprised at the lack of entries for Canada.
First priority for global infrastructure is clearly to be in spots around the globe. To some degree that has been accomplished, with more locations planned for the future.
One of those ‘coming soon’ locations in Ohio. I have nothing against Ohio, I just thought it was an odd decision compared to some place in Canada.
You might be wondering why I suggested Canada. While Canada is only the 37th largest country by population, it is a different story when it comes to trade with the United States.
What country is ranked number one in total trade with the United States? You might think it was China, and they are very high on the list ( #2 ). Turns out Canada is #1, ahead of China by 11.4%.
For that reason alone I would have guessed that AWS would open up a location in Canada before Ohio.
4 replies on “Why Isn’t AWS in Canada?”
Anecdotally, I know many Canadians who refuse to use AWS because they don’t want their data subject to US laws and/or the NSA’s snooping (legal or otherwise).
That would not surprise me, and a feeling that is likely shared by many in other countries as well.
Unfortunately that is a problem that simply won’t scale. A startup ( and even most large companies ) can’t possibly hope to keep data local in each country to avoid the potential problems of storage in one particular country ( the US in this case ).
I like to think Canada has cloud hosting options beyond AWS. Maybe Amazon just doesn’t want to pay taxes.
No doubt. That doesn’t help the large number of companies that are deeply tied to AWS. In those cases the only places they have local servers is where AWS DCs are located.