EMC Corporation, the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, will be investing S$250 million (US$160 million) in Singapore by 2012, as part of its growth strategy for the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region.

This follows earlier declarations by the American corporation that it would invest S$1.5 billion (US$1 billion) by 2010 to strengthen its R&D, customer support, and go-to-market capabilities in the same region. It is anticipated that the latest investment will accelerate the storage and disc manufacturing ecosystem in Singapore, enhancing her position as a base for high-tech engineering.

As part of the Singapore investment, EMC Corporation will set up a new South Asia Development Laboratory (SADL) here, with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). The SADL looks set to spearhead development and testing of new information-storage and information-management technologies for implementation in customer environments.

The 15,000 sq ft facility will include a separate lab for qualification of next generation digital storage solutions, a customer Proof-of-Concept centre and the first EMC E-LabTM outside North America.

The latter, an extension of EMC's award-winning E-LabTM in the United States, will conduct the IT industry's most rigorous, end-to-end interoperability and integration testing, spanning every major server platform, infrastructure software component and networking element.




















Primed for success

Through collaborations with suppliers, partners, Singapore's top tertiary education institutions and research institutes such as the Data Storage Institute, EMC Corporation plans to leverage the local engineering talent pool in Singapore by recruiting a team of 100 R&D engineers for this facility.

Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director, EDB, is confident that as a leading hub in the data storage industry, Singapore will rise to the challenge. "EMC's South Asia Development Lab in Singapore will bring a new strategic capability to strengthen the entire data storage ecosystem here," says Ko. "As the world leader in information management and storage, EMC's choice of Singapore to site the SADL, including the first E-Lab outside its home country, demonstrates our advanced R&D infrastructure and talent base which are able to undertake knowledge-intensive and complex activities."

Singapore was chosen based on its talent pool and strong economic, legal and communications infrastructure. Steven Leonard, President, Asia Pacific & Japan, EMC, says "EMC's decision to make an additional significant investment in Singapore over the next five years was made easier through strong government support as well as the immediate availability of advanced infrastructure and engineering talent here. EMC's R&D investment in Singapore reaffirms our commitment to our customers and partners throughout Asia Pacific and Japan. The SADL will help EMC further extend the value our technologies bring to customers needing to store, protect, optimise and leverage their information assets."

Ready for the future

In line with this investment and the fact that 60 per cent of IT spending comes from outside the US, EMC Corporation hopes to grow its international business aggressively. The SADL demonstrates a strategic commitment to meet customer needs globally and take advantage of the highly trained and experienced talent that exists around the world. By combining best-of-breed platforms, software and services with high-value and low-risk information infrastructure solutions, EMC helps organisations of every size around the world keep their most essential digital information protected, secure, and continuously available.

The New York Stock Exchange-listed EMC Corporation is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions. Its clients include banks and other financial services firms, manufacturers, healthcare and life sciences organisations, Internet service and telecommunications providers, airlines and transportation companies, educational institutions, public-sector agencies, and more.

By aligning its growth strategy of the region with the strengths found in Singapore, EMC Corporation has found the ideal base to further its reach into Asia.