Advanced Info Service (AIS) has partnered with the Oracle Alloy cloud infrastructure platform in a plan to offer Thailand's first locally-owned and operated hyperscale cloud infrastructure services.
The services are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2025. The exclusive partnership will see a joint investment of up to 8 billion baht between now and 2030.
The deal represents a significant collaboration to elevate Thailand's cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) landscape which is worth around 100 billion baht.
AIS chief executive Somchai Lertsutiwong said cloud technology plays a pivotal role in supporting the IT infrastructure modernisation and innovation for organisations in Thailand.
The cloud technology market in Thailand is forecast to post 23% growth per year through 2027, according to the GlobalData ICT Market Forecast Thailand issued in January 2024.
Oracle Alloy has also enabled AIS to become a locally owned and operated hyperscale cloud provider in the country, Mr Somchai added.
Under the partnership, AIS Cloud will offer more than 100 Oracle cloud infrastructure services and help organisations address the relevant regulatory and data sovereignty requirements.
Oracle Alloy will provide AIS's customers and all enterprises in Thailand, including those operating in the public sector, with access to more than 100 Oracle cloud infrastructure services, including the latest AI capabilities.
Mr Somchai said AIS Cloud, empowered by Oracle Alloy, will help AIS's customers address data residency and sovereignty requirements such as Thailand's Personal Data Protection (PDPA) Act and the Cybersecurity Act.
He added that AIS Cloud will be the only hyperscale cloud in Thailand, providing business resilience with in-country disaster recovery capabilities.
Currently, AIS has more than 10 data centres in the country.
AIS Cloud empowered by Oracle Alloy will be deployed in two AIS data centres and will be operated by AIS, which will deliver cloud services to its customers, including local support, providing them with a local cloud solution to meet regulatory requirements.
Customer information will also be housed within Thailand to help customers address data sovereignty and address regulatory requirements across industries.
In addition to more than 100 cloud infrastructure services, Oracle Alloy provides hardware, software, support and training that provides benefits to enterprise customers, the government and public sectors, and special industries under special laws and regulations.
AIS Cloud empowered by Oracle Alloy will also directly serve the government's Cloud First policy as it serves mission critical applications, IT modernisation, innovation and AI in line with the government's vision to modernise digital for all Thais.
This strategic collaboration between Oracle and AIS will not only accelerate AIS's transformation from a telecom operator to a tech company, but will also unlock the immense potential for digital transformation and AI innovation for all organisations, Mr Somchai noted.
Garrett Ilg, executive vice-president and general manager, Japan and Asia-Pacific, at Oracle, said Thailand is a strategic market for Oracle and the Oracle Alloy collaboration with AIS will serve as an industry game changer for the country.
With its local expertise and deep market knowledge, AIS is strongly positioned to deliver tailored customer experiences by addressing specific customer needs related to where the workloads reside and how their cloud is operated.
Daphne Chung, research director, cloud services and software research, IDC Asia/Pacific, said IDC forecasts spending on sovereign cloud to increase at a 31.5% compound annual growth rate in Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan (APEJ).
The APEJ Cloud Survey 2023 showed 19% of APEJ organisations expect to increase their spending on sovereign cloud in the near future.