Acer chief eyes Taiwan-China cloud computing tie-up

While they may not see eye to eye politically, China and Taiwan can agree to cooperate in developing mobile cloud computing technology which could rival that of South Korea. Acer Inc. CEO and chairman J.T. Wang called for the partnership during a cross-Taiwan Strait information and communication technology (ICT) forum on Sunday. Saying mobile Internet is the next big thing in the global technology market, Wang urged Taiwan and China to devise a structurally competitive strategy that would give them an unbeatable advantage in this new diverse world, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported late Sunday. Wang, head of the Taipei Computer Association, said the industry is undergoing revolutionary changes and transitioning from a single structure—dominated by Microsoft and Intel—into a multi-platform world. He suggested that the best strategy is to jointly develop cloud computing-based mobile Internet, which would combine the strengths of both Taiwan and China. South Korea's vertically integrated supply chains pose a serious competitive threat, he said, which underscores the need to combine forces on this front. Research firm IDC predicts that cloud computing will shape the server market over the next three years, driving as much as $6.4 billion in server spending by 2014, with over 1.3 million units purchased specifically for cloud purposes. — JMT/RSJ, GMA News