Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurates new software lab of IBM in Kochi

Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday inaugurated the new software lab of IBM, a state-of-the-art global innovation centre, at Brigade World Trade Centre inside the Infopark here.

The centre will focus on product engineering, design, and development of new products and solutions in the areas of data and AI and automation and collaborate with the technology eco-system in the region to co-create solutions for the global industry.

Vijayan said the investment made by the IBM shows that Kerala's IT hub have the greenest IT spaces and a talent pool of IT professionals.

"IBM's choice to establish its software lab at Infopark- Kochi is truly something to celebrate. This investment shows once more that Kerala's IT hubs have the greenest IT spaces, a talent pool of IT professionals, a Centre of Excellence in emerging technologies, and the economic momentum to continue to move the state forward as the country's next digital hub," Vijayan said.

The chief minister also said his government has worked closely with IBM over the past year to make this investment possible and was thrilled to see this happen.

He said this will give more momentum to Kerala's rapidly growing tech sector.

Designed with creativity and innovation at its centre, the facility has open, agile, and collaborative workspaces, a release issued by the Infopark said

The facility also has dedicated workspaces to co-create and co-innovate with clients and partners to fast-track innovation, especially in AI-powered automation areas like business automation, AI Ops and integration.

The lab is also housed with the Automation Innovation Centre, which will help IBM and IBM Ecosystem partners to build automation solutions through their lifecycle product design, engineering, and support - that will help clients in business automation, AI Ops and integration.

Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Higher Education Minister R Bindu, IBM Data, AI and Automation General Manager, Dinesh Nirmal, the Managing Director of IBM India South Asia, Sandip Patel and Vice President of IBM India Software Labs, Gaurav Sharma, among others were also present during the inauguration.

Nirmal said as the pace of digitization accelerates, the company was are more open and committed to collaborating with ecosystem partners and clients to co-create technology solutions that address the demands of our clients locally and globally more quickly.

"We will combine our global best practices in product design, engineering, and software development with world-class skills and the diversity of talent of Kerala and help clients automate, secure, modernise and predict," he said.

Patel thanked the government of Kerala for supporting the company in establishing its new India Software lab in Kochi.

"Our expanded presence in Kochi will play an important role in contributing to the region's economic growth through job creation and the engagement of local talent in high-skilled jobs," Patel said.

IBM India Software Labs (ISL) contributes extensively to IBM's Technology business by designing, developing, and delivering next-generation software portfolio and cloud offerings to drive the digital transformation of businesses in India and globally.