Cloud-computing solutions provider Hope Bay Technologies Inc (和沛科技) yesterday said it is cooperating with Acer Inc (宏碁) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) to offer cloud-computing storage solutions in Taiwan and China.
“Acer will target small and medium-sized enterprise [SME] clients in both Taiwan and China, while Hon Hai will reach out to Chinese local governments,” Hope Bay founder and CEO Ben Jai (翟本喬) told reporters on the sidelines of a cloud-computing solutions conference in Taipei.
Jai said Hope Bay is cooperating with Acer in the SME cloud storage business because the PC maker has global brand reputation, sales channels and established customer service. Acer would also allow Hope Bay to utilize its “Build Your Own Cloud” platform, he said.
Under their cooperation agreement, Hope Bay and Acer are integrating their technologies in a single cloud-computing storage solution for SMEs, dubbed the Altos Office Box, Jai said.
Citing a National Taiwan University research report, Jai said that 40 to 60 percent of the 1.35 million SMEs in Taiwan are expected to implement cloud-computing storage solutions by 2018.
The market for enterprise cloud-computing storage solutions in Taiwan is likely to reach NT$5 billion (US$160.7 million) by 2018, while China’s market is expected to reach NT$50 billion, he said, citing the report.
Acer Taiwan president of operations Towny Huang (黃鐘峰) said 10 Taiwanese SMEs had already bought the Altos Office Box.
He said cooperation with Hope Bay could generate “tens of millions” of New Taiwan dollars in revenue for Acer this year.
While Acer has solid relationships with SMEs in both Taiwan and China, Hon Hai has a proven track record communicating with local governments in China, which is to help Hope Bay expand its reach from enterprise clients to government projects, Jai said.
The world’s largest electronics components maker built a data center in China’s Guizhou Province.
Hon Hai last year acquired a 40 percent stake in Hope Bay.
Jai said the partnership with Acer and Hon Hai would allow Hope Bay to offer complete cloud-computing solutions in the future.
Hope Bay was established in May 2013 as a cloud technology center at Delta Electronics Inc (台達電). The company’s paid-in capital was NT$75 million, according to its filing with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
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