Alibaba Cloud Launches Big Data Service "MaxCompute" in Hong Kong

A proprietary big data processing platform for enterprise customers in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, September 18, 2017 – Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, today launched "MaxCompute" in Hong Kong. This proprietary big data processing platform features enhanced computing and machine learning capability, scalability and security protection. The roll out of this new offering further cements Alibaba Cloud's competitive edge as a cloud solution provider for enterprise clients in Hong Kong.

MaxCompute allows users to store and process massive amounts of structured and unstructured data to levels as high as terabyte (1012) or even petabyte (1015). A single MaxCompute cluster could scale up to 10,000 servers. Unlike traditional data analysis platforms that adopt the distributed computing model, MaxCompute is easy to maintain and convenient to use.

MaxCompute is capable of CPU/GPU-based machine learning, has high scalability and compatibility, but still a low cost base. Project owners, data analysts and developers can work concurrently, thus creating an ever-expanding ecosystem. MaxCompute also provides powerful security services and disaster recovery to protect the data.

Alibaba Cloud set up its first data center in Hong Kong in 2014, and has since doubled its data storage and processing capacity. It is now one of the largest public cloud providers in Hong Kong, serving a wide range of clients in government, aviation, finance, logistics, media and retail.

Wanli Min, AI Scientist of Alibaba Cloud said: "As industry demand increases and evolves, data processing and analysis remains a major service for cloud providers. The launch of MaxCompute in Hong Kong, combining with our current products and services, allows us to lift our offering to the next level - to provide our clients with total cloud solutions to meet the rising demand for secure and scalable computing services."

By providing a strong big data offering, Alibaba Cloud hopes to help Hong Kong customers achieve breakthroughs in innovation, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning and data analytics.

Alibaba Cloud has a strong proven record in leveraging its big data processing power to partner with private and public sector clients. Alibaba Cloud will partner with the Macau SAR Government to drive its smart city development in areas such as tourism, transportation and healthcare. The company has also worked with Hangzhou Government on an AI and deep learning project, "City Brain", since October 2016, helping to upgrade governance in the city.

MaxCompute has already been launched in Mainland China and Singapore, and serves as the data warehouse and modeling component of Alibaba Cloud's award-winning data intelligence offering. Alibaba Cloud achieved industry recognition for the service when it became the world champion in the CloudSort category of the 2016 Sort Benchmark competition, setting a new world record with the lowest computing cost at US$1.44 per TB.

For more information on MaxCompute, please follow this link to the product page.