by CIO Staff

Symantec to Double Beijing R&D Lab Staff

News
Oct 31, 20062 mins
IT Leadership

Symantec will double the number of research and development (R&D) staff at its China Development Center in Beijing, the company said Tuesday.

Symantec will add 300 more staff to the center by March 2007, turning it into one of the company’s main R&D sites, the company said. The China Development Center was set up in September 2004 and primarily serves to develop products for the Chinese market, it said.

Symantec did not disclose the level of investment required to meet its staffing goal.

As China’s market grows in importance to technology vendors, they have poured money into R&D centers and other facilities, looking to tap local technology expertise and develop products fine-tuned for the local market. The investments also serve a political purpose, winning goodwill by supporting the Chinese government’s stated goal of boosting investment in R&D.

In addition to Symantec, several companies have announced plans to step up their R&D efforts in China, including Motorola, Nokia, SAP and Advanced Micro Devices.

-Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service (Singapore Bureau)

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