Chinese cloud company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (Alibaba) has launched a U.S.-based cloud center through its
Aliyun arm. Established in 1999 under the leadership of Executive Chairman and founder Jack Ma, Alibaba is an ecommerce company which provides a range of services. These services include online auction hosting, money transfers, and mobile commerce. Over recent years the company has made a significant departure into cloud-based activities.
Alibaba's new center is located in Silicon Valley and aside from being its first center in the United States, it is the company's first center outside China. The move is an indication of the company's aim to enter the global cloud arena. Given competition includes Amazon, Microsoft and Google, this is a very brave move indeed. The center will initially focus on catering to Chinese companies that are operating in the United States. It will then target U.S. companies that operate in China.
"This is a very strategic move for us," Ethan Yu, a vice president at Alibaba who manages the company's cloud activity told Reuters. "International expansion is actually a company strategy in the coming few years. Eventually we may expand to other regions, for example the East Coast or middle part of the U.S., if our customers have the demand for that."
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