Google has announced plans to launch four new Google Cloud Platforms (GCP) regions, across three continents: In Delhi (India), Doha (Qatar), Melbourne (Australia) and Toronto (Canada).

As with all GCP deployments recently, each of the four regions will start with three cloud zones for added resilience and protection against disruption. The Delhi, Melbourne and Toronto zones extend existing coverage: they are the second GCP regions in India, Australia and Canada, respectively.

Multiple cloud regions

When launched, the additional GCP regions will give businesses in these countries the ability to create advanced disaster recovery plans that span more than one cloud region – without the latency penalties of using GCP regions from further afield.

According to Dave Stiver, a senior product manager at Google Cloud, one of the main priorities for new GCP regions is providing multiple regions for in-country disaster recovery. Last year, GCP opened a region in Osaka, alongside an existing one in Tokyo, for this reason.

“As our customers in India grow and diversify, we continue to advance and invest in our cloud infrastructure to help industries such as commerce, healthcare and financial services, as well as public sector organizations across India achieve their goals,” wrote Stiver.

The opening of the Melbourne region strengthens Google Cloud’s investment in Australia and commitment to supporting the expanding customer base there, says Stiver. He points to work with financial services institutions such as ANZ Bank in Australia, and how GCP is helping them advance their multi-cloud strategy.

Google has made a commitment to sustainable operations by matching all the energy that it uses with renewable power, even as it expand its cloud regions at breakneck speed. In the Asia Pacific, this has seen Google invest in its first renewable energy contract in Asia to buy the output of a 10MW solar array in Tainan City, Taiwan.