Lenovo to build 50 cloud computing hubs in China

Lenovo Group Ltd will invest 300 million yuan (US$48.7 million) to build 50 cloud computing centers in China as the world's biggest personal-computer manufacturer makes its latest move to tap the booming enterprise service market.

Lenovo also aims to establish the centers in some overseas markets like the United States and Germany. It will also train more than 1,000 experts in cloud computing, data analysis and storage and backup services.

Lenovo, which just completed the US$2.1 billion acquisition of IBM's low-end server business, wants to help firms do "business transformation in cloud" through the new united end-to-end services covering both Lenovo and former IBM services. The enterprise services are expected to be adopted in all industries especially in finance, education and health care sectors, said Ye Ming, former IBM executive and now Lenovo's vice president.

"Enterprise is a core place for Lenovo to explore in its PC Plus strategy in long-term development," Ye said yesterday in Shanghai.

The new CEMS (cloud, enterprise, mobility and services) business now accounts for 15 percent of Lenovo's total revenue, up from only 3-4 percent last year, according to Ye.

In October, Lenovo's Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said the company aims to generate a revenue of 10 billion yuan in enterprise services in the near future after acquiring IBM X86 server business.