The first-of-its-kind centre has been designed to develop specialised focus and skills in high value areas such as telecom, security, automation and asset management.

The centre will be staffed by IBM service management experts from around the world.It will also offer certification and joint education programmes with local universities, access to industry models, best practices and proven methodologies based on IBM's worldwide service management experience.

According to IBM's India Software Lab Vice-President, Ponani Gopalakrishnan, "At India software lab, we encourage the blending of technology and domain expertise with industry relevance.

"Our centres of excellence are designed with the objective of spurring innovation initiatives in partnership with clients and business partners."