Jakarta (VNA) - Tech giant Google is looking to openits first data center in Indonesia this year to enable the company to take theadvantage of the growing demand for cloud computing services in the country,one of company’s senior executives has said.

GoogleCloud Indonesia Country Director Megawaty Khie said in Jakarta on March 4 that,with the establishment of the data centre, the company would be able to providea reliable cloud infrastructure for its local customers.

Shesaid that Google first announced the plan to open Google Cloud in Indonesia twoyears ago at its Cloud Summit in Jakarta in 2018. The tech giant made anotherannouncement in April 2019 during the Google Cloud NEXT conference in SanFrancisco, the United States, saying it was going to launch its cloud servicesin Indonesia in the first half of 2020.

As of now, in terms of preparation, Google already has theinfrastructure and the people, she said.

Severalcompanies in Indonesia utilise Google Cloud services for their businesses,including major players in the retail industry such as homegrown e-marketplaceBlibli.com and convenience store chain Alfamart, which recently expanded itsservices online through its Alfacart online marketplace.

In addition to providing data analytics, machine learning and securityand management tools, cloud computing services allow businesses to conductdemand forecasting.

Demandforecasting uses the tools of data analytics to predict customers’ demands inorder to optimise business operation and management.

BothBlibli and Alfamart said that they would forecast consumers’ demands with thehelp of cloud services.

Aside from benefiting individual companies, the public cloud hassignificant potential to make a difference in the Indonesian economy, accordingto a study conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 2019, commissioned bythe Google Cloud.

Companiesthat use the public cloud could add around 36 billion USD to Indonesia’s GDPbetween 2019 and 2023. They could also create around 350,000 jobs acrossdifferent industries.

Google isnot the only player looking to capitalise on Indonesia’s cloud industry.

Amazon WebServices, a subsidiary of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, isplanning to build regional infrastructure in Jakarta by the end of next year orin early 2022.

Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of China’sAlibaba Group, already has a head start. It opened a data center in Indonesiain 2018, becoming the first global cloud platform available in the country.

Indonesian state-owned telecommunications firm Telkom Indonesiaannounced it would further invest in building its cloud computing platform,including data centers, to tap into the strong potential to benefit from thedigital transformation./.