IBM today announced it will establish a new analytics center in Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to advancing research, development, client services and skills training in the areas of analytics, big data and cognitive computing. The move aims to create 500 new analytics jobs and nurture economic development in the region over the next three years.

Ohio is home to 27 Fortune 500, and 57 Fortune 1,000 companies, as well as a burgeoning technology sector and leading academic institutions. The IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics will offer a strong foundation for a broad public and private sector collaboration that will include The Ohio State University (Ohio State), JobsOhio, Columbus 2020, ICC, an IBM Premier Partner, and other Columbus-based businesses.

The first of its kind technology, research and development, and client services lab is intended to spark economic competitiveness that will draw on the expertise of educational institutions and industry partners to create a world-class ecosystem serving industries' fastest-growing technical disciplines aligned to business analytics.

As part of the initiative, IBM will add as many as 500 new analytics consultants and research and development professionals to the center over three years, focused on creating new markets for Watson commercialization, Smarter Commerce and Social Business Client Capabilities.

In addition, IBM will partner with Ohio State to develop job-ready graduates through new course curriculum in its graduate and undergraduate programs. The new higher education collaboration between IBM and Ohio State will help develop students with the high demand analytics skills necessary to drive the economy of the future.

"Data is a powerful natural resource that if used wisely can drive U.S. economic competitiveness and lead to rewarding careers in the future dedicated to building a smarter planet," said Mike Rhodin, Senior Vice President, IBM Software Solutions Group. "This center will have a tremendous amount to offer: world-class educational institutions, a highly-educated workforce, industry-leading businesses and – perhaps most important of all – will serve as the foundation of a community of innovators that will transform industries around the world."

In this new era of computing, IBM is developing innovative approaches to tackling big data, such as breakthrough technologies like IBM Watson, a new class of industry specific analytical capability that uses deep content analysis, evidence-based reasoning and natural language processing to identify relationships buried in large volumes of data that can be used to improve decision making.

The need for these types of capabilities, and the specialized talent required to create and develop them, is being fueled by an increasingly competitive global marketplace, data-rich industries, and the accessibility to sophisticated computing at a lower cost.  

The Ohio State University & IBM Partner To Advance Student Skills in Analytics

To address the need for a more analytical-skilled workforce, Ohio State and IBM are collaborating on new business and technology curricula to help students and mid-career professionals gain the latest skills in analytics and prepare for high value jobs in the future. New courses of study are in development at the undergraduate, graduate and executive education levels that will include access to the center's technology assets and thought leaders.

"In order for business leaders to solve the societal challenges of the future, they must integrate critical thinking skills with expertise in their fields," said E. Gordon Gee, president, The Ohio State University. "The ability to apply a wholly new level of analytical insights and solutions will bolster our nation's role as a competitive global leader and be the catalyst for the next frontier of economic growth."

The partnership between Ohio State and IBM is part of an ongoing effort with more than 200 other academic organizations to expand and strengthen education curricula globally to meet the growing demand for highly skilled analytics business professionals.

"Our strong collaboration with IBM will help our students across a variety of majors gain the latest skills in this burgeoning Big Data discipline and set them on a path to secure the high skilled jobs of the future," said Christine A. Poon, dean, Ohio State's Fisher College of Business.

As part of its Academic Initiative, IBM is providing Ohio State with curriculum materials, relevant case studies, access to a wide spectrum of software solutions, IBM guest speakers and faculty awards to accelerate program development.

IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics To Foster Competitiveness

The ability to capture and analyze data is enabling organizations to make more informed decisions and maintain a significant competitive advantage.

The principal mission of the center will be to deliver new innovations and advance skills through the design, development and support of advanced analytics solutions in new, emerging market areas. This includes clients using cognitive computing systems such as Watson, the ability to gain actionable insights from information generated through Social Business networks, and helping companies swiftly adapt to the rising customer demands in today's digitally transformed marketplace through Smarter Commerce.

Key focus areas of the center include:

• Develop new advanced computing technologies and techniques across all industries to process big data that address important societal challenges.
• Provide a delivery and prototype testing environment for clients to explore new ways that advanced analytics and cognitive systems can improve decision making.
• Broaden awareness and strengthen skills in analytics capabilities in the region among students, recent graduates and existing professionals.

The center will also be connected to 200 IBM client centers globally, and IBM's network of eight Analytics Solution Centers with expertise in financial risk management, rail and transportation and the specific needs of state, local and federal government organizations.

IBM has established the world's deepest portfolio of analytics solutions. This includes almost 9,000 business analytics consultants and 400 researchers around the world. IBM has secured hundreds of patents a year in analytics, and has acquired more than 30 companies to build targeted analytics and information expertise since 2005. In addition, the company continues to expand its ecosystem, which today consists of more than 27,000 IBM business partners.

Read the Smarter Planet Blog Post "The Ohio State University and IBM partnership — turning big data into big ideas" by Christine A. Poon, dean, Ohio State's Fisher College of Business: http://ibm.co/SqSdbv

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown discusses how the IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics will drive innovation, create as many as 500 new jobs and foster economic competitiveness (Link to video.)

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