IBM said that it will open a new technology service delivery centre in Columbia, Missouri, which is expected to create up to 800 technical professional jobs.

The new centre is the third new facility in the US, which will join two other North American service delivery facilities opened recently in Dubuque, IA and Lansing, MI.

IBM said that it will begin hiring employees for the new centre during the summer of 2010. The facility will be operational in the fall of 2010, and by the end of 2012 should be fully staffed with a variety of IT positions ranging from entry level up to experienced professional.

Working with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the Missouri Partnership and the Regional Economic Development, IBM has signed a 10-year lease, with optional extension years, to occupy and renovate a building on LeMone Industrial Boulevard.

According to IBM, the new service delivery centre will primarily support the company’s US strategic outsourcing clients, providing server systems operations, security services and end-user services, including maintenance and monitoring of computer hardware and software systems. The services utilise collaborative problem solving and defect prevention processes based on service management standards.

Tim Shaughnessy, senior vice president of service delivery at IBM Global Technology Services, said: “This newest addition to our delivery centre portfolio in North America is critical to IBM ability to offer support at any level, local, regional and global, to provide the flexibility, scalability and security in solutions our clients expect.

“We selected Columbia for our newest facility based on several criteria, including the strong public private partnership with the state and city, a competitive business model and the talent and skills that Missouri and the Midwest have to offer.”