Australian enetrprise software developer Mincom Ltd, and Chinese software provider, Neusoft Group, have opened a joint R&D centre in Nanjing City, China.

The opening of the centre marks the release of the localised Chinese version of Mincom's Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solution, Mincom Ellipse. The partnership will see the solution being jointly marketed by Mincom and Neusoft to the asset-intensive industries in China.

In June 2005, Mincom and Neusoft signed a cooperative business agreement.  Under this agreement, Neusoft would translate and localise Mincom software for the Chinese market. The partnership established the basis for the joint R&D centre and a platform for long-term cooperation between the two companies. According to the companies, the product is now ready for countrywide distribution and support. Mincom will set up a sales office in Shanghai to support Neusoft's market development and Neusoft will use its national sales network to further leverage the distribution of the product.

Mincom is a fully integrated solution with functionalities for assets and works management, supply and logistics management, financial management and human resource management.  The core Mincom Ellipse product has been widely deployed globally in asset-intensive industries such as mining, transport, utilities and Government. Its customers across the industries include; London Underground, Transgrid, Australian Rail Group, Newmont Mining, Energex and Toronto Hydro.

According to Richard Mathews, CEO of Mincom, establishment of the joint R&D centre is a key part of Mincom's go-to-market strategy in China and it demonstrates Mincom's commitment to the Chinese market.

The senior vice president of Neusoft, Rong Xinjie said that Neusoft has rich experiences in localising many global leading software products to suit Chinese needs. Neusoft has successfully provided local support for many global business partners. The selection of Mincom as a strategic EAM solution provider is an important part of Neusoft's strategic business direction in providing solutions to asset-intensive industries. Through partnership with the global leaders such as Mincom, Neusoft will be able to provide world-class EAM solutions to the China market, he said.