China's Lenovo Group has reached a strategic alliance with American storage maker EMC to implement cooperation in server and storage sectors.
Meanwhile, the two parties plan to establish a joint venture, focusing on the NAS storage business. Lenovo will reportedly hold a 51% stake in the new JV.
Under the agreement signed by the two parties, Lenovo and EMC will launch a server technology development project to gradually integrate Lenovo's servers into EMC's designated storage systems. At the same time, Lenovo will sell EMC's storage products via two channels, including OEMs and agents.
In regards to the joint venture, Lenovo will invest in cash while EMC will invest assets and resources from Iomega, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMC. The new company is expected to be completed at the end of 2012.
Yang Yuanqing, chief executive officer of Lenovo Group, said that the cooperation with EMC is a milestone for the implementation of its PC+ strategy. Lenovo's power in the enterprise market will be enhanced and the cooperation will help promote EMC's business growth in China.
Latest statistics showed that Lenovo's market share in the global PC market reached 14.6% and it may exceed HP to become the world's largest PC manufacturer in the third quarter of 2012. However, compared with HP, the performance of Lenovo's server and storage sectors was mediocre and these sectors were not listed in its financial report.
