Amazon's (AMZN) AWS Launches Fifth Data Region In Europe

Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) is focused on bolstering presence in the cloud industry through expansion of its availability zones.

The online retail giant recently announced the launch of its AWS Europe Region (Stockholm).

The AWS Region is already available in Europe. The new opening will mark the fifth AWS Region (Stockholm) in Europe. This region will join the existing regions in France, Germany, Ireland and the U.K.

Inside the Headlines

The recent launch is in response to increasing customer demand for AWS presence in the Europe region.

The new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region will comprise three separate Availability Zones (AZs). These AZs are actually data centers located at distinct places within a single region but equipped to operate independently of other AZs. Although these remain interconnected over a low-latency network, their power sources, cooling and physical security are totally independent of one another. These factors contribute to lower down time and therefore increase the efficiency of companies using cloud resources.

Amazon believes that from now on, the new Europe (Stockholm) Region will help in better serving the developers, startups, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and non-profit organizations in Sweden.

Our Take

AWS, which started its offerings in 2006, has been successful in catering to the growing demand for cloud services all over the world.

It is into providing computing infrastructure like a utility, so companies are not required to maintain their own IT infrastructure. It facilitates the movement, which we have come to know as cloud computing.

However, the speed at which businesses are moving to the cloud and increasing innovation in the space has intensified competition. This also puts pressure on Amazon’s resources. Despite the increasing competition, we remain positive about AWS' growth prospects. Amazon’s continuous efforts to launch new features, open more datacenters globally and lower prices will give it a competitive advantage.

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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Amazon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) , QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) and Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for AMETEK, QuinStreet and Stamps.com is currently pegged at 11.18%, 25% and 15%, respectively.

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