Juan Diego Barrera Sandoval“I believe the new Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud ‘region’ will bring a lot to Mexico and all its industries,” says David Victoria, a Senior Cloud Architect for Caylent in Latin America and one of the main ambassadors of Amazon’s newest technology project. “However, I still think there’s many things to ask Santa for.”
Querétaro is the second Latin American city to host an AWS Region, following São Paulo. This Region, with three Availability Zones accessible via the API code mx-central-1, will offer low-latency cloud services, enhanced data sovereignty, and increased opportunities for digital transformation. It expands upon Amazon’s existing Local Zone (smaller-scale data center deployments) in Querétaro and Points of Presence (PoPs, which are caché storing edge locations) in Monterrey, Puebla, Tlalnepantla, Tlaquepaque, Torreón and Querétaro.
The news comes at a time when costs for software development in Mexico are increasingly becoming less of an advantage. Fortunately, the AWS region addresses the remaining two factors of the “Iron Triangle” in nearshoring IT services. With cost competitiveness fading, the industry is now prioritizing faster delivery and higher-quality end products.
According to Mexican Tech Expert Enrique Cortés-Rello, AWS Mexico has contributed significantly to boost the region’s tech ecosystem. “It consolidates the country as the region’s main technology hub. More cloud computing infrastructure means a stronger appeal for business and a wider array of available computing tools for companies, entrepreneurs, governments, and academia.”
A long-term bet
The US tech giant has recently announced plans to invest $5 billion in Mexico over the next 15 years. This investment is expected to create 7,000 jobs and contribute $10 billion to the country’s GDP.
This investment also promises to boost the nation’s digital future. The cloud initiative’s hardware and software are being implemented alongside a comprehensive community building program and robust sustainability protocols and projects.
These initiatives demonstrate the company’s awareness of protests in Latin America surrounding data center deployment and environmental concerns. According to David, the program includes:
- “Access to a dashboard that allows programmers to calculate carbon emissions and contamination through usage”;
- A strategy for “promotion and application of coding languages that are more energy-efficient, like Rust”;
- The usage of “custom-built Graviton chips that are up to 35% less impactful and 40% cheaper than traditional chips”;
- And a commitment to have data centers “run only on renewable energy and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030”.
Most sustainability strategies appear to have a long-term focus, leaving uncertainty about whether AWS can respond swiftly and effectively to the pressing challenges in cloud and AI development.
That said, the AWS Mexico Region has introduced initiatives to promote STEM education and provide targeted support for women and children pursuing careers in IT. Among the most significant efforts is a $300,000 fund dedicated to advancing technology-focused community projects in Querétaro.
What does this mean for industries like call centers, software development, and financial services?
“In the past, businesses had to purchase expensive hardware, install it on-premises, and maintain it themselves,” says David. “With cloud computing, companies can rent infrastructure on demand, scaling up or down as needed, without large upfront costs.”
AWS Availability Zones provide a robust platform for complex code loading, execution, testing, and development. This results in faster application performance, a better user experience, and new opportunities for industries dependent on real-time computing. These benefits extend beyond Mexico; having AWS data centers geographically closer should reduce friction in client experience and enhance software design capabilities.
AWS offers Amazon Connect, a cloud-based call center solution that streamlines communication and improves service quality. David explained that, with the impact of a local AWS Region on the available digital infrastructure landscape, call centers can anticipate lower call drop rates and improved voice quality, reduced latency for real-time customer interactions, and increased scalability, enabling businesses to adjust resources according to demand.
For developers and tech companies exporting services internationally, utilizing a local cloud region offers numerous advantages. “We say ‘cloud is your new local’,” David remarks, emphasizing that the infrastructure provided by AWS includes a sophisticated, extensive, and unique coding toolkit designed to support the majority of software development needs.
From a business perspective, this translates to faster development cycles, achieved through testing and deploying software closer to end-users; lower costs compared to hosting services in distant regions; and facilitated global expansion via a multi-region cloud architecture.
Both providers and consumers in the nearshore model will benefit from the ability to extend their service offerings to industries demanding high data sovereignty or low-latency standards previously unattainable. Organizations in sectors like banking, government, and healthcare can now leverage cloud services to achieve their objectives, overcoming regulatory hurdles that previously mandated in-country data hosting.
However, there comes David’s most serious critique of the AWS Region: “Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with all the functions”.
Take Hardware Security Modules: a high-level, coding-heavy security procedure used to record, archive and utilize sensitive data. It is now standard for a lot of licensing on cybersecurity. “Yet it is not available to utilize for the AWS Mexico Region. It is a function of data infrastructure that has been deployed in other AWS regions.”
Cortés-Rello explained it’s common for different cloud service regions to include different services. “It depends on hardware and software implemented on the region’s data centers. For example, US Regions provide services aligned with HIPAA (US health regulation standards). That is not that important for us.”
David expressed his hope that this exclusion is only temporary. He emphasized the lack of logic in omitting high-end security functions, particularly given the rise of increasingly complex cyberattacks and widespread concerns about data safety, especially when deploying technology designed to create faster, better products that aim to bolster digital sovereignty.
The Future of Cloud Computing in Latin America
AWS’s expansion into Mexico is more than just an investment in infrastructure—it’s a gateway to digital transformation for businesses of all sizes.
While the project may not yet be flawless, and while it may present sustainability challenges, it undeniably demonstrates that long-term, focused private investment can, at times, drive greater resources toward digital transformation than government initiatives. Collaboration between the two can further accelerate the region’s pursuit of competitiveness in digital markets.
With the offer of lower latency, improved security, and sustainable computing, Amazon’s move can accelerate cloud adoption across industries. As businesses in Mexico and Latin America embrace cloud technologies, they will be better positioned to compete globally, innovate faster, and reduce operational costs.
For companies considering cloud migration, now is the time to take advantage of AWS’s growing presence in Latin America—leveraging world-class cloud services, closer to home.
Other experts agree with Victoria and Cortés-Rello on their enthusiasm for the project, noting that it solidifies Querétaro’s position as a host city for “regions” established by all major cloud service providers (Oracle, Google, Microsoft, and AWS). However, they also emphasize the potential for further investment to explore other areas of the web services supply chain. In Cortés-Rello’s words: “investment should now go to creation and not only to cloud services provision. To complement this technological leap, we need investment in startups and advanced R&D in Mexico. We can’t just be consumers. We [as an increasingly leading country in the tech sector] need to turn into creators.”
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