NewLenovo forms cloud research centre in Hong Kong’s Cyberport

Lenovo, the world’s largest supplier of personal computers, has tapped Cyberport in Hong Kong to serve as its research and development base for new “cloud computing” products and services.

The computer giant’s cloud research operation represents the latest high-profile tenant landed by the Hong Kong government-backed technology complex, which opened in 2002 with Microsoft among its anchor tenants.

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s chairman and chief executive, and Paul Chow Man-yiu, the chairman of landlord Hong Kong Cyberport Management, also signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday to collaborate on various cloud development initiatives, including cultivating talented researchers from tech start-ups and universities in the city.

Lenovo also plans to set up its Asia-Pacific data centre in Hong Kong to support new enterprise cloud services across the region.

Cloud services allow companies to buy, lease, sell or distribute software and other digital resources online, just like electricity from a power grid. These resources are hosted and managed inside data centres.  

Alberto Moel, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research, said the Cyberport pact gave “Lenovo access to some R&D resources that can help with its new server business”.