Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 14:03
IT Industry -
Strategy
Page 1 of 2
IBM will expand its presence in the Australian regional city of Ballarat with a new IT centre that will see the company's 800-strong workforce expand by another 300 over the next five years.
IBM could well mean "It's a Booming Market" for the townsfolk of Ballarat, no doubt instantly buoyed by the major news that 300 more jobs are on the way.
The new $A10.8 million IT centre - funded by the Victorian Government through the Regional Infrastructure Development Fund, and by the City of Ballarat - will be located at the University of Ballarat Technology Park, and IBM will be its main tenant.
The announcement that IBM would be the centre's anchor tenant was welcomed by state premier John Brumby, and sends an interestingly bullish message about the suitability of Australia's regional areas for IT activities.
The state government believes the new centre will boost the local enonomy to the tune of $61 million.
Work performed at the centre will include software development, business processing, call centre and tech support - all vital tasks in the 21st century.
Around half of IBM's current Ballarat workforce are either graduates or students of the University of Ballarat.
There's a degree of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" in the relationship between IBM and the University of Ballarat - please turn to page two.
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