Strategically located near emerging growth markets, IBM intends to increase its investment in this center to take advantage of the global opportunity for online web 2.0 collaboration. The new facility brings the number of IBM's worldwide Cloud Labs to 10. IBM Cloud Labs provide a range of services including development of online services that take advantage of the promised economies of scale offered by cloud computing.

"IBM is focused on helping businesses, large and small, work smarter to drive innovation up and costs down and this new cloud lab will reinforce that," said Bob Picciano, general manager, IBM Lotus Software. "LotusLive.com will soon include the most secure, scalable, business-ready Web mail in the industry as part of a full-service collaboration suite to help simplify and improve the way organizations work with their customers and partners."

Businesses of all sizes will be able to use IBM as the provider for their full range of email needs, whether on-premise or hosted, from casual to intense usage. Business partners such as telecommunications operators and Internet service providers will be able to package and sell collaborative services to their clients under their own brands.

See also the earlier iTWire report: IBM Lotus grows cloud presence with LotusLive

While at IBM, I used to visit Hong Kong quite regularly to run workshops and provide support, and was starting to worry a bit that following the 1997 handover to the PRC there was going to be a lessening in Hong Kong's presence in the IBM world. So I'm quite glad that the new IBM cloud computing laboratory lab is being set up there.