Alibaba, the China-based online giant, will set up a data center in Silicon Valley for its Aliyun unit to begin offering US firms cloud service programs from.
The move is seen as a direct challenge to US rival Amazon in the field of cloud computing.
Aliyun already competes with Amazon Web Services in China. Now, following its recent successful public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in September, Alibaba would like to see how its approach to technology solutions (specifically, cloud computing) will be received here in the west.
“For the time being, we are just testing the water,” said Sicheng Yu, vice president of the unit, in a statement on the company's corporate site Alizila. “We know well what Chinese clients need, and now it's time for us to learn what US clients need.”
Alibaba offers the largest e-commerce platform in China; its services are similar to those offered by Amazon, eBay, and other US-based firms.
The company’s new data center will offer several services, including cloud computing on demand.
“The market is quite crowded in the US but we offer some unique value and there's room for us,” Yu said.
Via Phys.org
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