Lenovo is strengthening resources in its home country of
China by announcing the opening of a second “Innovation Center” aimed at solving
issues facing IT professionals.
The company opened its first Innovation Center in May
in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The two operations are meant to work
collaboratively in areas it makes sense too. The China Center will also
address issues specific to the Chinese market.
The work at the centers covers a range of IT processes, including
technology incubation for the development and testing of new products. Other
areas include imaging and training services, as well as being a solutions
showcase for key customers.
Lenovo said its goal is to facilitate more
collaboration between its business partners, such as IBM, Intel, LANDesk, Microsoft and Symantec, with an eye toward getting
solutions quicker to market.
“Lenovo and its partners are committed to staying on the cutting-edge of
computing technology, and focusing our research and development on
innovation that matters for our customers,” said Deepak Advani, chief
marketing officer of Lenovo. “We have assembled some of the leading technology
companies in the world in order to give customers a better, more robust IT
experience.”
Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing,
Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and in the U.S., Raleigh, NC.
In another move, Lenovo detailed its plans earlier this month to become a prime sponsor and computing equipment
partner to the upcoming 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. It’s also a
worldwide sponsor of the games.
Also, in September, Lenovo unveiled a new line of tablet and notebooks. The notebooks include Lenovo’s first widescreen, multimedia
ThinkPad, which also has integrated broadband data capability for cellular
and Wi-Fi networks.
Early this year Lenovo completed its billion dollar purchase of IBM’s PC business, which helped vault it to the No. 3 spot of PC makers worldwide.