The Center will also provide knowledge sharing to Taiwan's information industry to help it shift from a manufacturing focus, to an innovation focus. In the future, the Center will also undertake market research and co-operate with local vendors to develop new products and promote global server standards.

According to Industry Analyst firm IDC, Intel-based server revenue grew 14.1% to $US5.1 billion worldwide in the first quarter of 2004. IBM is the fastest growing x86-based server vendor in terms of revenue for the 8th consecutive quarter, according to IDC's 1Q 2004 Server Tracker report. With the establishment of the xSeries Taiwan Development Center local IT companies are well positioned to transform from PC manufacturers to server developers, which is of great significance for the sustainable development of the Taiwan IT industry.

According to Rodney C. Adkins, Vice President of Development, IBM Systems Group, "Taiwan's excellent R&D and manufacturing capability makes it an excellent choice for the opening of IBM's second xSeries Development Center. In addition, the Taiwan government's goal of enhancing the domestic research and development environment matches IBM's commitment to helping the Taiwanese IT industry grow." The only other xSeries centre is located in the United States.

IBM Taiwan general manager, Jason Hsu, pointed out the key elements of sharpening Taiwan's IT industry's competitive advantage in the global market will rely on innovation enablement and product standardization. "With knowledge sharing and professional training, the xSeries Taiwan Development Center is expected to further enhance local technical skills and develop competitive products", he said.

Original equipment manufacturing (OEM) vendor, Wistron Corporation Chairman and CEO Simon Lin pointed out that for large or small businesses, Intel-based servers help address total costs of ownership as well as platform future scalability. "With the establishment of IBM's xSeries Taiwan Development Center vendor investment in design, manufacturing and service can be quickly and efficiently leveraged by IBM and will shorten development cycles, promote design quality, and enhance IBM and Taiwan partners' competitiveness", he stated.

Administrative Vice Minister Yen-Shing Shih, in his speech at the opening of the development centre, stated: "The launch of this development centre represents a new milestone of IT industry development. Encouraging foreign companies to establish R&D centers in Taiwan has been one of the most important tasks for the Ministry of Economic Affairs in recent years. Following the previous opening of IBM's China Software Development Lab and Life Sciences Center of Excellence, IBM's xSeries Development Center will be its third R&D center in Taiwan. We believe it will not only further enhance Taiwan's R&D capability, the mutually beneficial relationship is expected to continuously create new business opportunities for Taiwan industries."