The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), as part of its Spoke-shore strategy to attract companies to set up operations in cities ‘Beyond Bengaluru’, fuelled the launch of IBM’s Client Innovation Centre (CIC) in Mysuru today.

The CIC initiative aims at supporting the rapid, high-tech driven economic growth in tier 2 and 3 regions while providing comprehensive hybrid cloud and AI technology consulting capabilities. The CIC specializes in design, software engineering and analytics.

Dr Ashwath Narayana, Minister for Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood said, “I applaud KDEM for making the Spoke-shore strategy a reality in India and wholeheartedly welcome IBM’s CIC to Mysuru. It is encouraging to see that the industry is recognising places such as Mysuru, thereby echoing our vision of Beyond Bengaluru. We are confident that this partnership will propel Karnataka to become a frontrunner for digital services and technologies world over.”

B.V. Naidu, Chairman, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission said, “The launch of the Client Innovation Centre at Mysuru resonates with KDEM’s Spoke-shore initiative of attracting at least 100 GCCs by 2025. The augmented pace at which centres like Mysuru are transforming digitally, we believe that such concerted efforts as IBM’s CIC is key to amplifying Karnataka’s IT-ecosystem, especially in centres beyond Bengaluru.”

Amit Sharma, Managing Partner, Worldwide Global Delivery, IBM said, “The IBM CIC will play a key role in the digital transformation of the IT-ecosystem throughout the city and create new employment opportunities to foster the next wave of technology innovation. IBM CIC is looking to hire over 10,000 staff this quarter globally. This builds on double-digit hiring growth in its Global Delivery Centers already this year. This continued investment in talent will expand the company’s skillsets in areas such as AI, intelligent workflows, application modernization and management, and hybrid cloud.”

As an entrepreneurial start-up within IBM Consulting, the CIC will specialise in design, software engineering and analytics while supporting clients in the transformation of their business by utilizing delivery capabilities throughout the entire system development life cycle, from design to architecture to creation. New skills will serve to open-up new business streams and strengthen the IT industry ecosystem in the region through close collaboration with clients and partners including cloud solution and service providers.

Dr E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary- Department of Electronics, IT-BT & S&T said, “KDEM has paved way for a new wave of digital transformation in Karnataka, especially in tier 2 and 3 centres. Initiatives such as CIC prove that a Government-Industry synergy can build a robust digital infrastructure, thereby significantly contributing to the nation’s economy and progress.”

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Given that 30% of India’s GDP is driven by the digital economy, KDEM’s Spoke-shore will converge on setting aspirational goals for GCCs and creating employment opportunities for 10,00,000 (direct and indirect) candidates by 2026. The Beyond Bengaluru initiative aims to attract and host 5000 IT companies and start-ups by 2026 in the Mysuru, Hubbali and Mangaluru clusters.

Sanjeev Gupta, MD & CEO, Lahari said, “Spoke-shore strategy has alleviated several GCC companies to create offshore hubs in Bengaluru. The question is what next from here, spoke-shore is next. We are extremely happy that IBM’s CIC is one such milestone towards taking the Spoke-shore strategy a reality and building a formidable ecosystem that goes beyond the realms of Bengaluru and focuses on a well-rounded development of Karnataka, especially its promising Tier 2 and 3 markets.”