What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services including servers, storage, databases, networking, and AI tools over the internet, allowing businesses to access powerful technology on demand without owning physical hardware, paying only for what they use.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing allows businesses to rent computing power, storage, and software over the internet instead of buying and maintaining their own physical servers and data centres. Rather than investing millions in on-premise infrastructure, companies can spin up resources in minutes and scale them as demand changes.
For businesses in Southeast Asia, cloud computing has become the foundation for digital transformation. With major providers operating data centres in Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur, enterprises across ASEAN can access world-class infrastructure with low latency and full compliance with local data residency regulations.
How Cloud Computing Works
Cloud providers operate massive data centres across the globe. When your business uses cloud services, you are essentially renting a portion of these resources. The three primary service models are:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Raw computing resources like virtual machines and storage. Examples include AWS EC2 and Google Compute Engine.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Managed environments for building and deploying applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. Examples include Google App Engine and Azure App Service.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Fully managed applications accessed through a browser, such as Salesforce, Google Workspace, or Microsoft 365.
Most AI workloads today run on cloud infrastructure because training and deploying machine learning models requires enormous computing power that would be impractical for most SMBs to own outright.
Why Cloud Computing Matters for Business
Cloud computing fundamentally changes the economics of technology. Instead of large capital expenditures for hardware, businesses shift to an operational expenditure model where they pay monthly fees based on usage. This is particularly impactful for SMBs in Southeast Asia that need enterprise-grade technology without enterprise-scale budgets.
Key business benefits include:
- Scalability: Automatically scale resources up during peak demand and down during quiet periods
- Speed to market: Launch new applications and services in days rather than months
- Global reach: Deploy applications closer to your customers across ASEAN with regional data centres
- Disaster recovery: Built-in redundancy and backup across multiple locations
- Access to AI services: Use pre-built AI capabilities like natural language processing, computer vision, and recommendation engines without building them from scratch
Cloud Computing in Southeast Asia
The ASEAN cloud market is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Singapore serves as the region's primary cloud hub, with all major providers maintaining significant presence there. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have also seen rapid expansion of cloud data centres to meet growing demand and data sovereignty requirements.
For businesses operating across multiple ASEAN markets, cloud computing enables consistent infrastructure across borders while complying with each country's data regulations. This is critical as countries like Indonesia and Vietnam have enacted stricter data localisation requirements.
Getting Started with Cloud Computing
For SMBs considering cloud adoption, a practical approach is to start with a hybrid strategy:
- Identify workloads that benefit most from the cloud, such as AI/ML, analytics, and customer-facing applications
- Choose a primary provider based on your region and needs. AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure all have strong ASEAN presence
- Start with managed services to reduce the need for specialised infrastructure staff
- Implement cost controls such as budget alerts and auto-scaling policies to avoid surprise bills
- Plan for security with encryption, access controls, and compliance frameworks from day one
The cloud is no longer optional for businesses that want to compete in the digital economy. It is the foundation upon which modern AI capabilities, data analytics, and digital services are built.
Cloud computing is the single most important infrastructure decision a CEO or CTO will make in the current decade. It determines how quickly your organisation can adopt AI, how efficiently you can scale operations across ASEAN markets, and how resilient your business is against disruption. Companies that have migrated to the cloud consistently outperform peers in speed of innovation and operational agility.
For leaders in Southeast Asia, the decision is no longer whether to adopt cloud computing but how to do it strategically. With data centres now available across the region, concerns about latency and data sovereignty that once held back adoption have been largely resolved. The competitive risk of staying on legacy infrastructure is now far greater than the risk of migration.
From a financial perspective, cloud computing transforms large, unpredictable capital expenditures into manageable operational costs. This is especially valuable for SMBs that need to preserve cash while accessing the same AI and analytics tools used by multinational competitors. A well-executed cloud strategy can reduce total infrastructure costs by 30-50% while dramatically improving capability.
- Start with a clear cloud strategy before migrating workloads. Identify which applications and data should move first based on business impact and complexity.
- Choose a cloud provider with strong data centre presence in your target ASEAN markets. Singapore is the regional hub, but local data centres in Indonesia and Thailand offer lower latency and regulatory compliance.
- Implement robust cost management from day one. Set budget alerts, use reserved instances for predictable workloads, and regularly review spending to avoid bill shock.
- Plan for data sovereignty requirements. Several ASEAN countries require certain categories of data to be stored within national borders.
- Invest in cloud security training for your team. Misconfigured cloud resources are the leading cause of data breaches in the region.
- Consider a multi-cloud or hybrid approach for critical workloads to avoid vendor lock-in and improve resilience.
- Start with managed services rather than raw infrastructure. This reduces the need for specialised DevOps staff while you build internal capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does cloud computing cost for an SMB in Southeast Asia?
Costs vary widely depending on usage, but most SMBs can start with cloud computing for as little as $500-2,000 USD per month for basic workloads. AI and machine learning workloads may cost more due to GPU requirements. The key advantage is that you pay only for what you use, and costs scale with your business. Most providers offer free tiers and startup credits to help you get started.
Is cloud computing secure enough for sensitive business data?
Major cloud providers invest billions annually in security and typically offer stronger protections than most companies can achieve on their own. They provide encryption at rest and in transit, advanced access controls, compliance certifications, and 24/7 security monitoring. The most common security issues come from misconfiguration by users, not from the cloud platforms themselves. With proper setup and training, cloud computing is generally more secure than on-premise infrastructure.
More Questions
A basic migration of a few applications can be completed in 4-8 weeks. A full enterprise migration typically takes 6-18 months depending on the complexity and number of systems involved. The recommended approach is to start with less critical workloads, learn from the experience, and gradually move more systems. Many businesses operate in a hybrid model during the transition, running some workloads on-premise while others run in the cloud.
Need help implementing Cloud Computing?
Pertama Partners helps businesses across Southeast Asia adopt AI strategically. Let's discuss how cloud computing fits into your AI roadmap.