Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday inaugurated IBM’s Client Innovation Centre (CIC) at O-Hub, Chandaka Industrial Estate in Bhubaneswar, further expanding the IT ecosystem in the state.

The new centre will position Odisha as a technology resource hub of India.

The centre will have a capacity of 500 employees as the company is looking to expand its capacity to serve global clients out of India. It will create opportunities for existing employees and enable the company to harness the potential talent, including graduate hires from the technical educational ecosystem in Odisha.

“Over the years, the resurgent Odisha has scripted success stories in many spheres. It is marching ahead with renewed confidence towards a New Odisha adopting new ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Odisha is now fast emerging as a technology resource hub of India,” Naveen said while inaugurating the facility.

He said that most IT firms have set foot in Bhubaneswar, given the immense scope available in the city. “The enabling environment, facilitation service and huge talent pool available here have turned Odisha into a destination of choice. Opening up of the IBM Client Innovation Center adds yet another watershed moment, signifying the fast-changing IT ecosystem in Odisha,” he said.

The new CIC will leverage the IBM Garage method of delivery, an approach that helps IBM “Co-create", “Co-innovate”, and “Co-operate” transformative business and complex technology solutions with its clients and ecosystem partners.

Tusarkanti Behera, minister of electronics and information technology, said: “We are committed to providing an ecosystem for job-linked industrial growth.”

Secretary of the electronics and information technology department, Manoj Kumar Mishra, said the Client Innovation Centre will further bolster the IT ecosystem in the state and create jobs for Odisha’s youth.