Alibaba Cloud (阿里云) : Asia Pacific's largest cloud provider for elastic computing, storage and AI.

Founded in 2009 as Alibaba Group's cloud computing division, Alibaba Cloud built the infrastructure that powers the e-commerce giant's own platforms before opening it to outside customers.

Customers rent elastic compute, object storage, managed databases and AI tools on a pay-as-you-go basis — a lineup much like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Data centers span China plus Asia, the US, Europe and the Middle East. The English-language console lets overseas teams launch and run workloads without a local presence.

How does Alibaba Cloud compare to AWS?

Alibaba Cloud offers competitive pricing, often 10-30% cheaper than AWS for comparable services in Asia. It excels in CDN and e-commerce infrastructure. However, its global service availability and documentation quality lag behind AWS. It is the preferred choice for businesses targeting Chinese markets.

Does Alibaba Cloud require Chinese identification?

International users can register with an email address and pay with international credit cards. No Chinese ID is needed for basic services. Enterprise accounts may require business verification. The international site accepts USD billing with support for major global payment methods.

Can I use Alibaba Cloud from the US?

Alibaba Cloud is fully accessible from the US with an international website in English. It is the largest cloud provider in Asia and third globally after AWS and Azure. It offers global data centers including in Silicon Valley, making it accessible for US developers.