Microsoft and China Electronics Technology Group have teamed up to form a joint venture that will license and manage the Windows 10 operating system for government agencies and state-owned companies in China.
Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president for Windows and devices group at Microsoft, writes in a blog post published Wednesday the new company will operate as C&M Information Technologies and will provide services in the areas of transportation, energy and telecommunications.
Apart from licensing functions, the Beijing-based joint venture will work to provide deployment, patch management and other support services for government clients and perform Windows 10 image updates through collection of feedback on clients’ use requirements.
Duncan Hewitt also reports on International Business Times that analysts say the Microsoft-CETC JV reflects U.S. companies’ interest to boost their market presence in China through partnerships with Chinese firms.
CETC will own a 51 percent share of C&M, which will focus on software research and development efforts and help China protect its data infrastructures from cyber attacks, according to a Xinhua news agency report Hewitt cited.