IBM executives said the innovation center shall serve as the platform to push for the adoption of IBM's SSME (Service, Science, Management and Engineering) curriculum to develop a critical mass of trained professionals for the O&O (offshoring and outsourcing) industry.

"The development of the curriculum is IBM's investment in the Philippine market," Klein said, adding the innovation center is aimed at addressing the needs of ISVs, software developers and the local academic community to be able to provide best-of-breed middleware.