Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters Microsoft will step up its investments in Asia over the next two years as part of a bid to strengthen its relationship with partners and corporate customers in the area of mission-critical technologies.“Over the next two years, we’re going to invest about [US]$14 million in resources and facilities,” said Chris Sharp, Microsoft’s Asia-Pacific general manager of server and tools products, during a phone interview.As part of these investments, Microsoft will assign 100 technical specialists to work with customers and independent software vendors on mission-critical software products, including Windows 2003 Server and SQL Server 2005. The company also plans to open two technology incubation centers in Seoul and Bangalore, India.“These technology centers are there to showcase the capabilities of server technology and help people port their applications to mission-critical hardware,” Sharp said. Microsoft’s planned investments in Asia will boost the effectiveness of the company’s enterprise sales team in Asia, said Dane Anderson, head of research at Springboard Research.From a technology standpoint, Microsoft’s products are competitive with offerings from rival vendors, but the sales cycle for enterprise products is longer and more involved than for sales of desktop operating systems or application suites, Anderson said. “These investments help to address that,” he said. Customers that have an established relationship also expect to benefit from the added investment and new technology centers.“We think it’s pretty good for us,” said James Kang, chief information officer of NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative, noting that the incubation centers are available to help his company run simulations and test new applications.-Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service (Singapore Bureau)Related Link: Microsoft Vista, Office 2007 Biz Launch Kicks Off in AsiaCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business Small and Medium Business Small and Medium Business interview WestRock CIDO Amir Kazmi on building resiliency Multidimensional resiliency is vital to setting yourself, your teams, and your organization up for success. Kazmi sets the tone at WestRock by recognizing the pace of change, instilling a learning and growth mindset, and being transparent with his te By Dan Roberts Dec 07, 2023 8 mins IT Strategy Staff Management IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by FPT Software Time for New Partnership Paradigms to Be Future-fit By Veronica Lew Dec 06, 2023 5 mins Vendors and Providers brandpost Sponsored by BMC Why CIOs should prioritize AIOps in 2024 AIOps empowers IT to manage services by incorporating AI/ML into operations. By Jeff Miller Dec 06, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe