In a move to tap the growing opportunity offered by Indian financial services sector and the government, technology major IBM on Tuesday announced the launch of its first public cloud data centre in India. The new centre located in Chennai will offer Indian customers and end users increased performance and speed for data travelling to and from the region.
The opening of the new data centre is part of IBM’s $1.2 billion investment to expand its global cloud footprint into every major financial market. This is the second data centre of the company in India. The company did not disclose the investment for the Chennai data centre.
“India’s cloud market is poised for exponential growth, which makes it essential for Indian businesses to have local access to the resources and skills they need to help guarantee success,” said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president of IBM Cloud.
The centre will help IBM tap into government initiatives like ‘Digital India’ and ‘Smart Cities’.
In an effort to accelerate digital transformation both at the enterprise and start-up level, IBM is also establishing a partnership with National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) to launch Techstartup.in.
It is a digital hub wherein the entire Indian start-up ecosystem, including angels, mentors, investors, academia and venture capitalists, can interact with each other to grow the cloud market.
In addition, IBM is launching two initiatives for developers — developerWorks Premium and a cloud certification program — to enable developers with the right tools and skills to compete and innovate in the global marketplace.
