What are AWS Dedicated Local Zones?
AWS Dedicated Local Zones are infrastructure fully managed by AWS, built for exclusive use by a customer or community, and placed in a customer-specified location or data center. AWS positions them for regulatory and digital sovereignty requirements.
According to AWS, using them is equivalent to using a regular AWS Region: the same services, APIs, and tools, but in an environment whose location and access model you help define.
Core Features
- Exclusively used infrastructure: Built solely for one customer or a defined community
- Location choice: Placement in a customer-defined country, jurisdiction, or specific data center
- Enhanced security and governance controls: Capabilities to monitor and control access
- Consistent AWS experience: The same services, APIs, and tools as AWS Regions
- Expanded service scope: Including EC2 generation 7 with accelerated computing, S3 Express One Zone, S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access, EBS gp3 and io1, EBS Local Snapshots, Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager, and Amazon RDS
- Operated by local AWS personnel: AWS manages the infrastructure on site
Typical Use Cases
Digital sovereignty for government: Public sector organisations host systems with confidential data in an environment with a defined location and access model.
Hybrid migration for regulated industries: Healthcare and financial services organisations move workloads to the cloud without giving up data residency requirements.
Research cloud: Universities and research institutions use a dedicated environment for shared research data.
Protecting proprietary software: Vendors run protected applications in infrastructure with a clearly defined access model.
Benefits
- Location and jurisdiction defined by the customer
- Operations and maintenance handled by AWS, not the customer
- The same services, APIs, and tools as AWS Regions
- Security and audit capabilities such as the Nitro System, KMS, GuardDuty, Inspector, Shield, and CloudTrail
- Reference deployment at GovTech Singapore since 2023
Integration with innFactory
As an AWS Reseller, innFactory supports you with AWS Dedicated Local Zones: analysing sovereignty and data residency requirements, distinguishing them from AWS Regions, Local Zones, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, and designing architecture and operating concepts for the dedicated environment.
Typical Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Dedicated Local Zones differ from regular AWS Local Zones?
AWS describes Dedicated Local Zones as infrastructure fully managed by AWS, built for exclusive use by a customer or community, and placed in a customer-specified location or data center. Regular Local Zones, by contrast, are publicly available extensions of an AWS Region.
Which services are available in Dedicated Local Zones?
AWS describes a consistent experience with the same services, APIs, and tools as AWS Regions. In an expansion published on 12 December 2025, AWS names Amazon EC2 generation 7 with accelerated computing, Amazon S3 Express One Zone and S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access, Amazon EBS gp3 and io1 volumes, EBS Local Snapshots, Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager, AMIs with local snapshots, and Amazon RDS. Clarify the full scope with AWS.
What security and operational controls are provided?
AWS names hardware- and software-level security via the AWS Nitro System, encryption through AWS Key Management Service and AWS Certificate Manager, threat protection via Amazon Inspector, Amazon GuardDuty, and AWS Shield, and audit logging through AWS CloudTrail. The infrastructure is operated by local AWS personnel.
Are there reference deployments?
AWS names GovTech Singapore as a customer. The first Dedicated Local Zone was deployed there in 2023 and enables government agencies to host systems with confidential data in the cloud.
What does AWS Dedicated Local Zones cost?
AWS does not publish a public price list for Dedicated Local Zones. Scope and terms are agreed individually.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of AWS (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by AWS.