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Sun spends up to US$1.5m on local training center

Summary

US-based server maker Sun Microsystems has invested between US$1 million and US$1.5 million in setting up its Sun University (SunU) training center in Singapore.

Events

Microsoft MSDN/Developer Event
25 Mar 2010

One Marina Boulevard, Microsoft Singapore

IT Architect Regional Conference Singapore 2010
20 - 21 Apr 2010

Singapore Management University, Singapore

The Internet Show 2010
21-22 Apr 2010

Suntec Singapore

SINGAPORE--US-based server maker Sun Microsystems has invested between US$1 million and US$1.5 million to set up its training center, called Sun University (SunU), in Singapore.

The 3,000 sq ft center is the Nasdaq-listed company's first in Asia Pacific, and is targeted at Sun employees, resellers and partners around the region.

It offers programs such as technical and pre-sales courses as well as advanced level product training programs on Sun products and services. Some of these courses include Storage 1 (Basic), Disk Management, Sun Cluster 2.8 & 3.8, Sun Back Up, and Hands on hardware for Systems Engineers.

Local Sun reseller CSA Automated Pte Ltd is also involved in the initiative, said SunU Asia Pacific education manager Henry Lai. He was speaking to reporters at the official opening of SunU today.

CSA's investment is valued at approximately S$250,000 and it is expecting to spend about S$2,000 a month on maintenance and operational costs, said CSA assistant general manager (Customer Services & Support Group) Yeo Sok Ching.

Besides housing the center at its local office on Henderson Road, CSA's engineers (who are Sun-certified instructors) conduct the classes.

When asked about the course fees, Lai replied: "We are not here to make a profit...Therefore, courses are charged based on how much resources are required to conduct a course...Typically, it costs about US$300 to US$400 per person per day."

One reason for providing the training was to reduce staff turnover. According to him, a significant number of staff leaving Sun worldwide noted in their exit interviews that lack of development was a major factor for their departure.

SunU, which started its first course about three months ago, has already trained about 150 staff, Yeo added.

On why SunU was not making use of the virtual classroom, currently offered by players like EMC Corp here, Lai said he believes in providing "hands on experience (for the technical courses), which cannot be simulated" on the Internet for training.

SunU is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has operations in Colorado, Boston, United Kingdom and Germany.

At present, there are no plans to expand SunU to other parts of Asia. However, Beijing may be a possibility for the future, as China is one of the biggest market in Asia, said Lai.

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