IT multinational IBM is launching a services centre in Montréal with plans to create up to 500 highly skilled jobs. “After 16 months of internal campaigning, Montréal came out on top,” said Claude Guay, IBM Canada’s Vice-President and Lead Partner in Québec, in an interview with La Presse. “Many factors worked in the city’s favour: its pool of university students, its reputation in the industry and its bilingual profile—not to mention the affordable cost of living and the government tax credit program.”
IBM’s new Client Innovation Centre in Montréal will deliver remote development and support services to business clients. Its service offering falls somewhere between the lost-cost services provided out of India, for example, and more expensive support services. “We will be providing a package of complementary services,” explained Guay. “The hybrid format will allow clients to work with consultants to choose solutions geared to their needs and budgets.”
The centre began operations in IBM’s downtown Montréal offices. Next summer, it will move next door to the Quartier de l’innovation, home to Canada’s largest concentration of multimedia and information technology companies. IBM has already hired 44 specialists for the new centre. Its objective is to open 500 consultant positions over the next five years: a conservative figure, in Guay’s opinion.
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