The company looks to respond quickly to clients' needs in the region, as it provides the IT know-how for everything from desktops to data centres.

 

Over the years, Singapore has been touted as one of the best cities in the world for companies to do business in. So it comes as no surprise when one of the leading lights in the IT operations management sector, Avocent Corporation, decides to set up its regional headquarters here.

"As I have noticed during my travels here over the last 17 years, Singapore offers one of the world's best business environments, coupled with excellent infrastructure and high standards of governance," observes Michael Borman, CEO, Avocent.

Stepping Up

Continuing in the company's blueprint for expansion and growth, Avocent officially launched its Asia Pacific regional headquarters in October this year. Located at Singapore's New Tech Park, the office looks to build on its current suite of services by providing full logistics, maintenance, consulting, operations, sales and on-site support to Avocent's customers in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby linking key supply chain partners in this part of the world.

In all, the company is expected to invest S$14 million (US$9.5 million) in infrastructure and resources on its latest Asia-Pacific control centre. It will also focus on building its research and development capabilities over the next five years to better meet the needs of its growing customer base.

"Avocent joins the ranks of many other leading IT companies that leverage Singapore's strengths to successfully manage their regional business. [These include] HP, IBM, Sun, EMC, Dell and Lenovo," says Manohar Khiatani, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). "These industry bell-weathers have been steadily growing their operations here. And now, Avocent's presence will add to the dynamic and growing infocomms ecosystem here." He went on to add that the company's decision to base its regional headquarters here is a strong endorsement of the nation's value proposition as a total business hub to manage regional business and supply chain operations.

"With fast-growing economies such as India and China, the focus on the needs of Asian customers is key for multinational organisations such as Avocent. We believe the time is right to strengthen our position in the Asia-Pacific with a regional headquarters that will be readily accessible to our growing base of customers across the region." - Michael Borman, CEO, Avocent

Driving Growth

Avocent is a multi-national organisation that handles thousands of client accounts, including 94 per cent of Fortune 100 companies. It has offices in over 30 countries and employs over 2,000 employees worldwide. These companies rely heavily on Avocent to reduce cost, increase availability of network resources, and enable control, security and compliance, regardless of mix or location of their hardware and software.

And the time is now for companies like Avocent to enter a burgeoning Asia-Pacific region that is primed for sustained growth and abundant opportunities. According to market research company IDC, companies in the region will spend S$224.8 billion (US$154 billion) on IT in 2008, of which a significant portion will be spent on data centre equipment. In Singapore itself, the infocommunications sector is booming, with the growth of revenues rising almost 15 per cent from S$45 billion (US$30.6 billion) in 2006 to S$52 billion (US$35.4 billion) in 2007. Currently, Avocent's list of regional clients includes Credit Union Australia, Media Development Authority of Singapore and Maybank.

"Asia-Pacific continues to be a significant growth market for Avocent, 49 per cent in the second quarter this year over last year. With fast-growing economies such as India and China, the focus on the needs of Asian customers is key for multinational organisations such as Avocent. We believe the time is right to strengthen our position in the Asia-Pacific with a regional headquarters that will be readily accessible to our growing base of customers across the region," says Borman.

Combining the specific skill sets that service a growing market with a business location that has the requisite infrastructure and connectivity to the region, the partnership between Avocent and Singapore is on the right track to make waves in the region's infocomm sector.