This paper explores the making of cloud regions as a particular spatialised configuration of cloud computing. The paper aims to shed light on the the significance of the 'region' as a central scale at which big-tech power operates.
Long abstract:
Cloud regions have emerged as dominant cloud computing configurations and are key to how big-tech companies expand and dominate markets across the globe. They are widely associated with hyperscale cloud computing, yet critical social research on its regionalised form remains scant. As researchers begin to grapple with the many scalar processes that make cloud computing powerful, the paper aims to shed light on the the significance of the 'region' as a supposedly central scale at which big-tech power operates. I do so by exploring a) what the cloud region is in practice, including its socio-technical and political economic construction and b) how the region operates in relation to wider scalar process, including economic development and security trajectories under state-tech relations. As a doctoral student, the paper is based on findings from my PhD on the making of the Amazon Web Services Hyperscale Region in Auckland, Aotearoa. I’m seeking feedback on my findings and how I might better make sense of them amid a growing academic interest in scale-making.