I am currently trying to launch an mobile app for users around the world. It is not a spectacular launch which will get millions of users in weeks - just another individual developer releasing an app.

I know enough about the techniques of managing timezones, internationalizing string, and what not ( the application layer ). But I cannot find any information on how I should manage my EC2 instances...

Should I be setting up EC2 instances in different regions around the world? Is that a must-do, or is it an overkill?

I'm aware that it's the ideal solution in terms of performance, but it becomes very tough managing servers in multiple regions. DB issues, AMI management, etc... I'd much rather NOT do so.

So I would like to know the general best practice when launching an international app/website.

Note: For static contents, I know it's better to use a CDN, so I'm planning on doing so.