DA NANG, Vietnam, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the opening of a branch office in the city of Da Nang in Central Vietnam as part of the company's continued geographic expansion initiative to increase its presence in key growth markets. The Da Nang office is IBM's third in Vietnam to date after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

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The extended presence will strengthen IBM's ability to provide solutions and services to clients and partners in the region especially in high growth areas such as smarter systems, cloud computing and IT security.

Da Nang is one of Vietnam's key economic, cultural, scientific and technological centers and part of Central Vietnam's Economic Zone. In recent years, the Da Nang government has turned to technology to help enhance the quality of public services and improve the quality of life for citizens. For example, IBM is helping to integrate and transform the IT systems at the Da Nang Government's Department of Information and Communication. IBM is also partnering with local academic institutions such as Da Nang University where it has established an IBM Center of Excellence to support the development of IT skills. IBM has also recently announced Da Nang as one of the cities around the world to be selected in the Smarter Cities Challenge program through which IBM will deploy a team of its experts to help Da Nang to become a smarter city.

"IBM has been present in Vietnam for over 15 years but we are now expanding into new regions in recognition of the huge potential of the Vietnamese market and the role of smarter systems in transforming business, government and society," said Vo Tan Long, Country General Manager, IBM Vietnam. "By giving Da Nang access to world class technology and expertise, we also hope to help the city become smarter and increase its ability to play a key part in Vietnam's economic growth."

Businesses in Da Nang have also embarked on a major program of modernization and are implementing advanced technologies to increase operational efficiency and become more competitive on the global stage. IBM is already active in the region through its network of business partners and experiencing strong demand for its solutions and services from the manufacturing, aquaculture, hospitality and machinery sectors. For example, Da Nang Hyatt Residence Hotel and Resort has deployed IBM hardware and software solutions to build a high-availability IT infrastructure to increase efficiency and improve collaboration across different departments and partner organizations.

Phung Tan Viet, Da Nang's People Committee Vice Chairman welcomed IBM's latest investment: "as Da Nang strives to strengthen its competitiveness across a number of strategic economic sectors, we highly value IBM's increased presence in the city. IBM's deep expertise and industry leading technologies will have a positive impact on the local business environment and IT community."

Geographic expansion is one of IBM's core growth strategies through which it is expanding into untapped markets around the world where there is a significant opportunity for growth. By investing in people and physical offices on the ground and by building relationships with businesses, government leaders, and universities, IBM is committed to the local economic development of the cities in which it is present.

The new office in Da Nang was inaugurated at a ceremony today attended by government officials, clients and business partners.

About IBM

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Contacts:
Pham Binh Minh
IBM Vietnam
+84 4 3946 2034
minhpb@vn.ibm.com

Jonathan Batty
IBM Growth Markets
+48-693-93-5403
Jonathan.Batty@pl.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM