Fresh off of an expansion to Mexico, Google today previewed the launch of new Google Cloud regions concentrated in Asia-Pacific (APAC), specifically Malaysia, Thailand and New Zealand. When they come online, they'll bring Google's total number of cloud regions to 34 -- short of Azure's more than 60 but ahead of AWS' 26.

In the context of cloud computing, a region is a specific geographic location where users can deploy cloud resources. At a minimum, all Google Cloud regions offer services including Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Storage, Persistent Disk, CloudSQL, Virtual Private Cloud, Key Management System, Cloud Identity and Secret Manager. Additional products usually come online within six months of a new region's launch.

In a blog post, Google cites data from IDC projecting that total spending on cloud services in APAC (excluding Japan) will reach $282 billion by 2025. Other research agrees. According to a 2021 survey from Information Services Group, cloud services accounted for more than 84% of APAC’s IT and business services spending in Q3 2021 -- by far the greatest percentage of any region.

AWS is also eyeing the opportunity, having recently outlined a two-year plan to set up cloud zones in Auckland, Manila, Bangkok and elsewhere in APAC. Google Cloud's move would appear to be a shot across the bow.

"The new Google Cloud regions will help to address organizations’ increasing needs in the area of digital sovereignty and enable more opportunities for digital transformation and innovation in APAC," Google Cloud's Daphne Chung said in a statement. "With this announcement, Google Cloud is providing customers with more choices in accessing capabilities from local cloud regions while aiding their journeys to hybrid and multicloud environments."

Google Cloud's continued growth comes as it fights for dominance in the ultra-competitive -- and potentially lucrative -- cloud computing market. Flexera's latest State of the Cloud report shows Google Cloud several percentage points behind AWS and Azure in terms of usage and adoption. But on the other hand, Google Cloud surpassed $6 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time in Q2 2022, signaling resilience.