IBM Launches New Consulting Arm

IBM said it would invest $1 billion over the next three years in the new division.

On Demand Innovation Services is to be staffed with some 200 research consultants and engineers who will work in tandem with IBM Global Services' Business Consulting Services unit.

BCS was formed when IBM bought PwC Consulting with its 30,000-plus consultants this summer.

According to the company, the new services group and its clients will have access to engineers that specialize in business transformation and technology consulting.

In recent weeks and months, IBM has been emphasizing a strategy it calls "on-demand computing" in which customers pay only for the IT resources they consume.

For the first time in IBM Research's history, its people will be working directly with customers, officials said in a statement. BCS consultants will be able to bring IBM's IT experts to bear in winning deals and harnessing cutting-edge technologies.

At the outset, On Demand Innovation Services will concentrate its research on data analytics, business process transformation, information integration and experimental economics.