HP opens services center in Malaysia

Hewlett-Packard has opened a new services center in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, marking the single largest investment by a technology company in the country.

Officially launched Tuesday by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the facility is part of IT vendor's US$1 billion strategy announced in June to overhaul its enterprise services business.

One of HP's six Best Shore Hub, the new center aims to assist enterprises looking to modernize their IT systems through HP's recently launched Converged Infrastructure offerings, said Kevin Jones, HP's Asia Pacific and Japan senior vice president of enterprise services.

In a phone interview with ZDNet Asia, Jones noted that one key service the new 60-acre center will support is infrastructure technology outsourcing, under which HP currently has 270 customers.

HP touts its outsourcing services to be able to help enterprises turn their IT operations into a leaner and more flexible outfit through its converged offerings such as networking and data center services.

Jones said:"[Enterprises] will be able to migrate their applications and modernize their infrastructure platforms. These are the services that clients are clamoring for."

While Jones declined to reveal how much has been invested in the new center, he said there are plans to increase the facility's headcount by up to 52 percent.

Asked why Cyberjaya, dubbed Malaysia's "intelligent city", was selected to house the new facility, he noted: "It's a world-class, secure location, the workforce is skilled and technologically savvy, and we have a lot of clients in Malaysia particularly so this was the best choice for us."

Cost is also an important factor in the decision to set up a global center, he added. The five other Best Shore centers are located in the Philippines, India, China, Bulgaria and Costa Rica, all of which are able to provide lower operation costs compared with other developed nations.

Jones said: "One of the many criteria is to make sure we've got an economically sound workforce globally. These countries can provide a good mix between a great knowledgeable workforce, particularly in the IT industry, along with lower cost benefits."

Of the 270 enterprises HP's global centers currently service, 160 are global companies located across 20 countries. Each center plays a critical support role, regardless of the location of the enterprise, he said.

"The client can be in Singapore but it can choose to use the data center in other parts of the world. It all depends on the operation needs," he noted. "It's hard to say which [location] is cheaper or more expensive as there are many variables that go into it."

Jones was also quick to point out that while its converged infrastructure offerings will appeal to larger enterprises such as multinational companies, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) can also take advantage of modernized platforms.

HP has also allocated 30 acres within the Cyberjaya center to house a new next-generation data center. "A modern data center [will] capture the massive demand we're seeing out there, not just in the datacenter outsourcing space, but across all forms of IT outsourcing sector--in particular, cloud technology," he said.

To be built on HP's converged infrastructure platform, the energy-efficient center will also house one of five internal HP Global Application Development and Support Centers and one of eight internal HP Finance Centers of Excellence, which uses financial systems to support the company's internal business analysis and decisions.

Today's opening of the Best Shore Hub is in addition to three offices HP already operates in Malaysia.