Amazon Web Services Expands to Mexico: New Opportunities and Benefits
In February 2024, Amazon Web Services (AWS) made an exciting announcement about expanding its infrastructure in Mexico. Today, the tech giant has officially launched the AWS Mexico (Central) Region, boasting three Availability Zones and the API code "mx-central-1." This marks the first AWS infrastructure region in Mexico and adds to AWS’s growing footprint in Latin America.
Significant Investment in Mexico’s Digital Future
AWS’s decision to establish a new region in Mexico underscores its commitment to the nation’s digital advancement. Over the next 15 years, AWS plans to invest more than $5 billion in Mexico. With this investment, AWS aims to provide customers in Mexico with state-of-the-art cloud technology, including advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities, supported by specialized processors. This investment will not only bolster Mexico’s digital economy but also support over 7,000 full-time equivalent jobs annually, contributing more than $10 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Additionally, AWS is launching a $300,000 AWS InCommunities Fund in Queretaro to support local community projects.
Local Infrastructure and Data Residency
The AWS Mexico (Central) Region offers organizations a new way to run workloads and store data locally. This is particularly beneficial for organizations that require data residency, improved performance with reduced latency, or enhanced security standards. The presence of AWS infrastructure in Mexico ensures that these organizations have robust and reliable options to meet their unique needs.
AWS’s Presence in Mexico
Since 2020, AWS has been operating infrastructure in Mexico, including seven Amazon CloudFront edge locations, AWS Outposts, and strategic services such as AWS Local Zones in Queretaro and AWS Direct Connect. These offerings empower customers to run low-latency applications while maintaining secure connectivity.
Performance and Innovation
The introduction of the AWS Mexico (Central) Region brings AWS services closer to local customers, reducing latency compared to other regions. Customers in Mexico can now benefit from AWS’s innovative offerings, such as the AWS Graviton processors, which provide up to 40% better price performance compared to traditional x86-based Amazon EC2 instances across various workloads.
AWS’s advanced AI and ML capabilities, including AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia, are designed for scalable deployment of generative AI. These purpose-built processors deliver optimal price-performance ratios, making them ideal for cloud workloads.
Security and Compliance
AWS is renowned for its comprehensive security capabilities, supporting 143 security standards and compliance certifications such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140-2, and NIST 800-171. AWS customers in Mexico have complete control over their data, including its location and movement. This means that data stored in the AWS Mexico (Central) Region remains within the country unless the customer decides to transfer it.
Success Stories: AWS Customers in Mexico
Several leading Mexican organizations are already leveraging AWS to achieve remarkable results. Companies like Aeroméxico, Banco Santander Mexico, Cinépolis, Grupo Salinas, Kavak, Palace Resorts, and Vector Casa de Bolsa are running critical workloads on AWS. Here are some notable examples:
- BBVA, a major financial services company, is using AWS to accelerate its data-driven transformation. With Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock, BBVA empowers over 1,000 data scientists to efficiently build, train, and deploy machine learning models. This enables BBVA to explore advanced technologies and create innovative financial solutions, aligning with its goal of becoming a data and AI-driven digital organization.
- Grupo Multimedios, a leading media group in Mexico, is pioneering generative AI with Amazon Bedrock for its media asset manager. This implementation has reduced content research time by 88%, decreased news generation time by 40%, and increased content production by 70%, resulting in 250 additional news items daily.
- Bowhead Health, a digital healthcare company, is revolutionizing cancer research by using Amazon Bedrock to accelerate the research pipeline. The company has created a vast, de-identified dataset ready for analysis, bypassing traditional recruitment barriers and driving faster breakthroughs in oncology drug development.
- SkyAlert, a technology company focused on earthquake alerts, transformed its alert system by migrating to AWS in 2018. By using AWS Lambda, AWS Fargate, and Amazon Pinpoint, SkyAlert can now scale automatically and deliver messages rapidly. The opening of the AWS Mexico (Central) Region is expected to further enhance its services with local infrastructure.
Building Skills Together
AWS’s investment in Mexico extends beyond infrastructure. Since 2017, AWS has trained over 500,000 individuals in cloud technology. Collaborating with the Ministry of Economy, AWS has trained 138,000 people in digital technology as of 2024. Partnerships with universities such as Universidad Panamericana and Tec de Monterrey are also helping to develop digital skills. Additionally, AWS is training 20,000 leaders from Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) through programs with Canacintra.
Commitment to Sustainability
Amazon is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. According to a recent Accenture study, running workloads on AWS is up to 4.1 times more energy-efficient than on-premises environments. Optimizing workloads on AWS can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 99%. The AWS Mexico (Central) Region incorporates sustainable design practices, such as air-cooling technology that eliminates the need for cooling water. Customers in this region will benefit from AWS’s sustainability initiatives.
AWS Community in Mexico
The AWS Community in Mexico is one of the most vibrant in Latin America, featuring 26+ AWS Community Builders and 15 AWS User Groups. These groups, located in cities like Jalisco, Puebla, Monterrey, Mérida, Mexico City, Mexicali, Cancún, León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Ensenada, Saltillo, Tijuana, and Villahermosa, comprise over 9,000 members. A specialized User Group called Embajadoras Cloud focuses on women’s professional development.
AWS’s Global Reach
With the launch of the AWS Mexico (Central) Region, AWS now spans 114 Availability Zones across 36 geographic regions. The new region is ready to support businesses, and detailed information about available services can be found on the AWS Services by Region page.
To start building in "mx-central-1," visit the AWS Global Infrastructure page. For further insights into sustainability at AWS, explore the AWS Cloud sustainability page.
The launch of the AWS Mexico (Central) Region marks a significant milestone in AWS’s expansion strategy, bringing advanced technology and economic benefits to Mexico while supporting local communities and the environment.
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