Hewlett Packard to invest $200m here

The Hewlett Packard Enterprise customer engagement centre showcases its technology using immersive scenarios.
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise customer engagement centre showcases its technology using immersive scenarios. PHOTO: HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) will invest US$140 million (S$197 million) in Singapore over the next five years.

At the opening of its new local headquarters in Depot Close yesterday, HPE unveiled a new incubator programme - InnovateNext.

The programme will see the leading global technology firm work with local start-ups to develop and commercialise new technologies.

InnovateNext, which is being developed in collaboration with the Economic Development Board, will receive US$16 million of HPE's total investment here.

The rest will mostly go towards investment in HPE's operations at its new headquarters and efforts to enhance the firm's research and development capabilities.

HPE was created in 2015 as part of the splitting of the old Hewlett Packard into two businesses.

The new programme will focus on creating solutions focused on hybrid information technology, which refers to digital solutions comprising a mix of traditional technology resources as well as modern cloud-based services, technology revolving around the Internet of Things, the interconnectivity of everyday objects using computing devices and the Internet, and data and analytics.

Ms Meg Whitman, HPE president and chief executive, said the programme was a reaffirmation of the company's commitment to develop innovative technologies.

"HPE will now be able to provide our best-in-class technology and global partner ecosystem to promising technology start-ups in Singapore to help them turn ideas into commercially viable enterprise technology solutions they can offer to prospective customers," she said.

The programme plans to incubate 12 start-ups over the next three to five years to develop market-ready solutions.

Selected start-ups will be provided with access to HPE's technologies as well as its engineering and consultative expertise.

Also, these start-ups will have the opportunity to work with HPE's customers to develop specific technology solutions.

HPE will also help in commercialising these solutions by featuring them in a technology showcase at HPE's local headquarters, where customers can explore and learn more about product solutions for specific industries.

The new headquarters, which oversees HPE's operations in the Asia-Pacific and Japan, will consolidate all of the company's facilities - including R&D, supply chain and logistics, marketing and sales offices - in a single location to facilitate collaboration with potential partners.

Ms Whitman said Singapore's ecosystem of universities, venture capital, big companies and start-ups make it an excellent place for HPE's regional headquarters. "Singapore is a hub of entrepreneurial activity...You have the ingredients to create a miniature Silicon Valley right here. So, we're making a bet."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 09, 2017, with the headline Hewlett Packard to invest $200m here. Subscribe