Chinese company to operate Apple’s iCloud

The iCloud services of Apple in China will be operated by a local partner in Guizhou province from February 28, where the data of all Apple customers in China will be stored, the company said on Wednesday.

From then on, photos, documents and other personal information uploaded to iCloud accounts by Apple customers in China will be stored at a database in Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co.

Apple has started informing its Chinese iCloud users, with data transferred and uploaded to the new database automatically.

The move aims to increase transparency and offer Chinese customers a safer and more fluent experience, the company said.

An executive with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data said, “We are very proud and happy to be a partner of Apple, and look forward to the operation of the iCloud project.”

Business analysts said the move will help Apple comply with Chinese law concerning customer data and allay some customers’ concerns about security of their data, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Apple announced the new database in Guizhou last July, with an investment of $1 billion.

Other major technology companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have also made similar deals to run data centres in China.

Guizhou is one of the least developed regions in China. Yet it has become a pioneer in China’s “big data” development due to its pleasant climate, power supply and network infrastructure.

The provincial government has set up a leading group for big data, with the provincial governor as leader. Leaders at various levels are the “cloud chiefs” responsible for big data development in their own areas.