International Business Machines' ever-expanding cloud computing services will continue development in Asia.

The company announced it is collaborating with Range Technology Development, out of China, to build a state of the art cloud computing data center in Langfang City in Hebei province. It will be the largest cloud computing center in Asia, says IBM.

This new facility will leverage IBM's data center innovation and resources to provide a cost-effective solution while providing the flexibility to meet the unpredictable changes in IT demand -- whether it is from changes in IT technology or new business models such as cloud computing, said Steven Sams, vice president, IBM Site and Facilities Services, in a statement.

IBM expects the facility to help companies across China with enterprise-wide strategic outsourcing services, business continuity and disaster recovery as well as advanced capabilities in cloud computing. The facility will be more than 620,000 square meters large or approximately 6.2 million square feet.

This initiative plays a critical role in the economic development of China in light of the pressing demand for managed hosting in the areas of cloud computing and mobile devices, Madam Zhou Chaonan, chairman at Range Technology, said in a statement.

The center is expected to be completed in 2016. It will also support Langfang City's development and hosting for smarter transportation, e-government services and administration systems. It will also host healthcare projects, particularly in the space of electronic medical record development.

The market for China's data centers, according to International Data Corporation, is $667.1 million in 2009 and is forecast to grow an additional US$1.9 billion over the next five years. IBM has been active in the cloud based data center space, specifically in Asia. It has multiple centers in Japan, China and Vietnam.

Data centers have always been a critical part of IBM's heritage as we own or manage over eight million square feet of data centers for our clients. We have also designed and built over 30 million square feet for clients on a global basis, Sams said.

China Outsourcing Cloud computing China