Cloud computing has been around for more than a decade now and throughout the years we have seen a proliferation in adoption in cloud computing services for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Public cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, with their scalable, cost-effective and highly available solutions are becoming a preferred infrastructure choice for many businesses globally.
• OCI is not in China
Enterprises who have deployed resources in these public clouds globally frequently encounter problems when they wish to extend their adoption in China.
Unlike global public clouds where one account permits you to deploy resources in multiple regions, the public clouds in the China region requires one to have a separate cloud account specifically for China regions. Creating a cloud account in China requires you to have an business entity registered in China.
There are 2 aspects of challenges here. Firstly, users may encounter connectivity issues accessing the console, especially if the IT managers are based outside of China. Second, upon deploying resources that requires port 80, 8080, 443 will not work by default. There is an ICP registration and exception process that needs to be done with the public clouds and this process can be cumbersome and confusing for enterprises who are not familiar with it.
Outside of China, global cloud providers maintain their own global backbones, offering enterprises faster, more interconnected networks that reduce latency and boost performance in international communications. However, this advantage diminishes at China’s border.
Connecting Chinese public clouds to global regions or data centers via the internet often results in suboptimal network performance, with high latency and frequent packet loss. Opting for private connections, like Direct Connect, ExpressRoute and Fast Connect, presents additional challenges, such as complex pricing, lengthy approval processes, and regulatory restrictions for cross-border communication.
The public cloud landscape in China differs significantly from that of the rest of the world due to regulatory, technological, and market-specific factors. In China, strict government regulations shape the way cloud providers operate, necessitating local partnerships and data localization efforts.
