SEATTLE — Amazon Web Services (AWS), a division of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) that offers on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments, plans to make a big investment in Central Ohio. The company, along with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, announced the firm will invest approximately $7.8 billion to expand its data center operations in the region by the end of 2029.
AWS is currently undertaking a site selection process across numerous localities in Central Ohio for the new data center campuses, the total number of facilities of which was not disclosed. Final site selections will be decided and announced at a later date. The move is expected to create 230 new jobs and an estimated 1,000 support jobs, according to J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, an economic development corporation based in Columbus.
The AWS data center project represents the second-largest single private sector company investment in Ohio’s history, according to the governor’s office. The new data centers will contain computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing.
“Amazon is already one of the largest private-sector employers in Ohio, and the company’s continued growth here further cements Ohio as the heart of our nation’s technology and innovation,” says DeWine. “As more of the world relies on cloud computing, this investment will build on Amazon’s current infrastructure in Ohio to help new and existing businesses grow, allow residents to securely connect to friends and family and provide access to online educational resources and entertainment.”
AWS launched its first data centers in the Midwest in 2016 and currently operates data center campuses in Ohio’s Franklin and Licking counties. The company’s investments and operations have generated over $2 billion in economic benefit for Ohio to date and supported more than 3,000 local secondary jobs on an average annual basis. In 2022, AWS directly employed nearly 1,000 Ohioans, according to the company.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with the state of Ohio and deliver new workforce development and educational programs that support the next generation of talent by emphasizing collaborative, long-term public and private partnerships across the state,” says Roger Wehner, director of economic development at AWS.
In addition to JobsOhio, multiple county and local economic development teams and One Columbus are collaborating with AWS to support the expansion.
Since 2006, AWS has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud and now has more than 200 fully featured services for various software and tech capabilities. AWS operates 99 data centers, which the company dubs “Availability Zones,” within 31 geographic regions worldwide. AWS has announced plans for 15 more data centers and five more AWS regions in Canada, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand.
Amazon’s stock price closed on Monday, June 26 at $127.33 per share, up from $113.22 a year ago, a nearly 12.5 percent increase.
— John Nelson