IBM Opens Dallas Innovation Center

IBM will open a new Innovation Center in Dallas, TX to help start-up companies, software developers, and independent software vendors (ISVs) create new software and hardware applications and services. The center, which will help test, build, and optimize applications, will allow companies to harness IBM expertise on technologies like System z, Cell Broadband Engine and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The new center joins about 35 other IBM Innovation Centers around the world. All centers will be able to network with each other in order to maximize their technological capabilities. "With more than 150 IBM Business Partners in the Dallas area, and that number growing each day, this new investment is being led by the demand from these partners for increased expertise in their local region," Jim Corgel, general manager, ISV & Developer Relations, said in a statement. According to an IBM release, the new center is a response to the rapid growth of the Dallas technology community. The Greater Dallas Chamber Index reports that Dallas-Fort Worth commands the highest concentration of technology activity in Texas, with one-third of all tech establishments and 40 percent of the state's technology jobs.