IBM Establishes E-Business Centre in Sydney

[Sydney, AUSTRALIA] IBM Global Services will establish an AUS $23 million (US $13.8 million) Asia-Pacific centre for e-business in Sydney by the end of the year, placing the spotlight on Sydney as the e-business hub of the region.

Supported by the Federal and State Governments, IBM will invest more than $23 million over the next three years establishing the technology and communications infrastructure for the centre, which is intended to increase IT and e-business skills in Australia.

This effort is expected to create 490 jobs over the next five years, of which 340 will be new and the remainder filled by current IBM Global Services e-business professionals.

The centre will concentrate on the skill areas of e-commerce, Customer Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management and Business Intelligence, and is expected to position IBM to increase the deployment of these skills to leading-edge projects.

Announcing the centre, New South Wales Premier Bob Carr and federal Industry, Science and Resources Minister Nick Minchin said Sydney’s large, stable pool of graduates and professionals would make the Sydney centre the focal point for IBM’s e-business development and support operations for the entire region.

“The IBM initiative confirms the advantages of Sydney and Australia as the IT and e-business hub of the Asia-Pacific,” Premier Carr said in a statement with Senator Minchin.