Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba, longtime enemies in the global portable PC marketplace, are reaching over that chasm to collaborate in a different sector: IT infrastructure and cloud computing services.
The two companies said June 16 they have created a new partnership to provide hardware, software and services to public networks that provide power, water and gas services for IT systems in the Far East and other regions.
HP and Toshiba will co-develop projects involving water supplies, efficient energy distribution, health care and transportation, and they will deploy cloud-related systems where appropriate.
HP naturally will provide its IT planning, architecture and product expertise, and Toshiba will bring to the table its domain knowledge in various infrastructures.
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Toshiba makes not only PCs, servers and processors but also hardware for other industries. Toshiba's power system division, for example, makes equipment used in nuclear power plants, and its medical systems unit makes X-ray equipment and magnetic resonance imaging systems.
The collaboration will also provide an opportunity for HP to deploy products and services now being researched in the company's labs, which include cloud services, security, infrastructure development and solar energy.
Toshiba is moving deeper into the service sector as an alternative because its nuclear power business is being curtailed. The company recently supplied some of its engineers to help Tokyo Electric Power Co. bring its Fukushima plant under control following the huge March 11 earthquake that hit northeastern Japan.
Toshiba said it expects its sales related these services to hit $11 billion in 2015, up from its current service income of about $3.7 billion in 2010, Reuters reported.
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