The firm said it

The firm said it was responding to client requests for a larger presence in that market. Many of its customers have offices in Silicon Valley. The office as well will provide access and relationships for all customers, particularly those in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, with an interest in doing business in that market.

Cloud services program

Two Forsyth County information-innovation companies said Friday they have merged as part of forming a cloud services program.

The companies are Eastridge Research Inc., a software services company based in Winston-Salem, and Simple Network Solutions, a computer infrastructure-services company based in Kernersville.

Cloud computing entails providing shared information, resources and software to computers and other devices over a network just as the Internet.

AstraZeneca announced Thursday that it will eliminate about 400 jobs from its U.S. commercial business as part of a push to streamline operations. The cuts include 70 vacant positions, leaving about 330 employees facing job losses.