Technology vendor EMC, whose primary focus is in storage solutions, is planning a major expansion in North Carolina, including new data centers. The company has bought a 450,000-square-foot property near the state's technology hub Research Triangle Park, which - in addition to data centers - will house research and development labs, EMC spokesman Patrick Cooley wrote in an email.

Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC paid $22.6 million for the property and plans to invest a total of about $280 million in expanding its presence in the state over the next five years. According to a local news report, local and state authorities have offered more than $8 million in incentives to convince EMC to invest in the region.

Cooley said the company already had significant presence in North Carolina, consisting of six locations that employ about 900 people in and around Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Apex.

EMC's major competitor NetApp recently opened a new data center in the Research Triangle Park. NetApp said the $65-million facility was its most energy-efficient data center to date, taking advantage of airside economization, pressure-controlled computer room, cold-aisle containment and other efficiency measures.

EMC's last major expansion announcement came in September, when the company said it would increase its investment in the Indian market by $1.5 billion over the next five years. The company recently opened a new campus in Bengaluru, which houses one of its largest R&D facilities outside the US.