Alibaba took another step Monday toward developing a global cloud business, with the announcement of a new global partnership that includes Silicon Valley s premier chip-maker Intel and Redwood City data center builder Equinix.
The announcement was made in a press release by Aliyun, the Alibaba Group s cloud-computing subsidiary. The announcement included statements from Intel and Equinix executives talking up the deal.
The Chinese e-commerce giant recently opened its first data center in Silicon valley.
But it can t take on dominant players without some help, said Simon Hu, president of Aliyun.
Hu said Aliyun is linking up with Intel, Equinix and others in a Marketplace Alliance Program that will target regions and leverage local expertise to sell cloud services to businesses.
Intel will promote Aliyun and Intel technology based on Intel architecture specifically tailored to the rapidly growing market of international public cloud consumers, according to a statement by Intel s Raejeanne Skillern, who is general manager of Intel s cloud service provider business.
Equinix said the partnership will bring the company one step closer to a goal of enabling multinational customers to expand cloud-based applications across Asia.
Other partners include Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel); two Hong Kong IT companies; the French cloud company LINKBYNET, and Meraas Holdings of Dubai.
What do the partners get out of the deal? More business in China and Asia, according to the announcement.
Photo: In this March 17, 2014 file photo, people walk past a company logo at the headquarters of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou(AP Photo)
