IBM sets up top-end business analytics center in India

IBM has set up a center in Bangalore that will focus on offering high-end expertise to the business analytics market worldwide.

The center, called the Business Analytics Center of Competency, will have over 200 consultants in the area of business analytics who will interact with customers worldwide, said Simon Thomas, service line leader at IBM India for the global delivery of business analytics and optimization services.

IBM's global business services operation in India is already doing work in the area of business analytics and optimization with about 2,000 staff. But most of the work done so far consisted of developing applications, and delivering services and support to customers, Thomas said on Friday.

The new center, IBM's first in the world for business analytics, is focused on providing top quality expertise to customers, Thomas said. It will have experts with published papers in areas such as advanced analytics, business intelligence, process management, content management, and enterprise integration management, he added.

Until now the interaction with clients was done by technical staff in the field and sales staff who were not top-end experts in business analytics, Thomas said. Because of the complexity and depth required in the area of business analytics, the company now wants to send out subject-matter experts to customers, to supplement the field force, he added.

The new center will also offer its resources to IBM's network of Business Analytics Solutions Centers that were set up in locations such as Beijing, Tokyo, New York, and Berlin to serve clients in their local markets.

The Bangalore Center of Competency differs from these centers by the high degree of expertise in business analytics that it will be able to offer customers, Thomas said.

IBM already runs a number of operations in India, including a research lab and global software and services delivery centers.

The new center will focus on a number of areas including Web 2.0 analytics, risk and fraud analytics, financial analytics, customer analytics and enterprise business analytics strategy, IBM said.

IBM has also set up four other Centers of Competency in the areas of strategy and change, banking and financial markets, telecommunications, and energy and utilities. These centers also have people working from India, Thomas said.