Hewlett Packard (HP) is about to expand its Israeli R&D center. The company will add around 100 employees over the next two years in a new enterprise infrastructure management project to create new products. The project will be developed at HP-Mercury Interactive, its R&D center in Yehud, in central Israel. The company currently has about 5,000 employees in Israel.

HP VP SaaS strategy Israel David says that the company plans to create a virtual community in enterprise infrastructure management, which will include blogs, forums and other social media. The goal is to create easy access to information in the field.

HP’s Israeli R&D center is based on its acquisition of Mercury Interactive in 2006 for $4.5 billion. Until now, HP’s expansion in Israel has been through acquisitions.

During a visit to Israel in June, HP chairman, president and CEO Mark Hurd noted the company’s expanded presence in Israel, saying, “We need people who will invest the next Blade systems, the next touch screen, or the next printer. We need smart people. We want the smartest people in the world to work for HP, and we’ll go where we’ll find them,” reports Globes, Israel’s leading online business news service.