IBM Opens Center to Tap Future Talent
By CXOtoday Staff
Mumbai, Jul 17, 2008

The center will simulate and analyze service delivery-related processes, people and other resources in the areas of manufacturing, retail, telecom, banking & financial services, and technology services. It will also address the gap of a formal practice and education in Services Science Management and Engineering (SSME) for the services innovation led economy of the 21st century, according to a press release.

Kevin Wright, program director (SSME strategic initiatives) of IBM said, "India has been experiencing high growth in retail, communication, transportation, financial, as well as information services. The creative capacity of the service sector for new industries and business has scarcely been tapped - the Center for Service Management & Engineering (CSME) aims to provide the basic skills in the science of services to enable a whole new set of service sector entrepreneurs, as well as more successful transformation of business performance in existing large companies."

CSME will undertake projects from services sector companies to model, simulate, and analyze in-depth process, people, and other resources required to make delivery more robust, agile, and cost-effective. It will further document, publish, and share project outcomes in open collaborative formats under Creative Common License.

"The growth of services economies and emergence of globally integrated enterprises necessitates a new, multidisciplinary approach in order for individuals, industries and countries to remain innovative and competitive," said Guruduth Banavar, director -IBM India Research Laboratory. "The CSME will strengthen IBM's efforts to evolve future services skills in this region while developing and implementing service innovation roadmaps."

"Employment growth will be concentrated in the services sectors of the global economy. Service design, development, marketing, and delivery all require methods to make service businesses more efficient and scalable. Practitioners need depth and breadth in combinations of technology, business, and organizational studies. As a forward thinking institution, advocating pedagogic innovations based on commitment to simple but practical objectives, namely 'influencing practice' and 'promoting value-based growth', said Shrikanth Parikh, chairman, steering committee, IBM - SPJIMR SSME initiative, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research.

The center will also organize several educational initiatives including SSME enablement workshops for faculty and students: service systems, service management, service productivity, service measurement, use of methods in service deliveries, service supply chain etc. It will also provide hi-value hands-on workshop for faculty and students comprising service business modeling, simulation & analysis, business process modeling and management. Regular interactive lectures will also be held involving recognized industry subject matter experts covering solution designing, IT services management, infrastructure management, etc.

The services sector develops and implements technological applications that help businesses, governments and other organizations improve what they do and tap into completely new areas. Services now account for more than 50 % of the labor force in countries like Brazil, Russia, Japan, and Germany and over 75 % of the labor force put together in India, United States and the United Kingdom. This shift to services has created a skills gap, especially in the area of high value services, and many leading universities across the globe have begun exploring and investing in this area, working in tandem with thought leaders in the business world.


Related links:

Expansion of IBM's Innovation Center