IBM India Expands Beyond Metros, Tapping Tier‑2 Cities for AI and Innovation Growth

IBM India is actively expanding into tier-2 cities such as Lucknow, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Pune, positioning them as hubs for AI, GenAI, cybersecurity, and sustainable IT development. This move is designed to tap into local talent pools, foster innovation ecosystems, and provide employees with better work-life balance compared to congested metros.

According to the past reports, IBM India’s expansion into tier‑2 cities include new software labs in Pune, Lucknow, and Kochi. IBM later issued formal announcements, including the August 2026 press release on its Visakhapatnam FutureNow Centre, and interviews with Sandip Patel (IBM India MD). 

IBM’s Tier-2 Strategy

• Diversification of talent hubs
  IBM aims to reduce over-concentration in metros like Bengaluru and Mumbai by spreading operations across smaller cities. This ensures resilience and access to untapped talent pools.
• Local talent integration
  Regional engineering and technical colleges provide a steady stream of skilled graduates. IBM has found “amazing talent” in these cities, fueling its software labs and innovation centres.
• Academic partnerships
  Collaboration with universities strengthens research and development, particularly in AI and automation.
• Government collaboration
  Example: IBM’s AI GovTech Centre of Excellence in Lucknow, developed with the Uttar Pradesh government, focuses on public-sector AI solutions.
• Work-life balance
  Employees benefit from shorter commutes, integrated IT parks, and residential communities, making these cities attractive for long-term careers.

Key Expansion Locations

City	Focus Areas	Highlights
Lucknow	GenAI, agentic AI, GovTech	New AI-powered software lab; Centre of Excellence with UP govt.
Kochi	WatsonX, AI, automation	Fastest-growing IBM lab; strong collaboration culture; leadership roles emerging.
Ahmedabad	AI product development	Doubling hiring; vibrant ecosystem with universities.
Pune	GenAI, cybersecurity, sustainability	Software labs tied to academia and local tech communities.

Why Tier-2 Cities Matter

• Cost efficiency
  Lower operational costs compared to metros.
• Talent retention
  Many employees are natives returning home, reducing attrition.
• Innovation ecosystems
  Business partners and startups co-locate, enabling co-creation.
• Employee satisfaction
  Better lifestyle options and reduced commute stress.

Risks & Challenges

• Infrastructure gaps
  Some tier-2 cities may lack the scale of IT infrastructure found in metros.
• Global client perception
  Clients may initially prefer established metro hubs.
• Talent scalability
  While talent is abundant, scaling specialized skills (e.g., quantum computing, advanced AI) may take time.

IBM Opens New "Security Command Center" in Bengaluru to Train Businesses in the Art of Responding to Cyberattacks

New IBM Cybersecurity Hub to Help Asia Pacific Organizations Build Cyber Resiliency

IBM Security Command Center in India represents significant investment in security incident response and training for organizations across APAC

Asia was #1 most-targeted region for cyberattacks in 2021, according to IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, released today

New Security Operations Center (SOC) part of IBM global network for helping clients around the world respond to cyber-attacks.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a multi-million dollar investment in its resources to help businesses prepare for and manage the growing threat of cyberattacks to organizations across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The centerpiece of this investment is the new IBM Security Command Center, the first of its kind in the region, for training cybersecurity response techniques through highly realistic, simulated cyberattack – designed to prepare everyone from C-Suite through technical staff. The investment also includes a new Security Operation Center (SOC) which is part of IBM’s vast network of existing global SOCs - providing 24X7 security response services to clients around the world.

According to new IBM global analysis released today, Asia is now the #1 most targeted region for cyberattacks – representing 26% of attacks analysed in 2021.1. The data reveals a significant regional shift compared to the past decade of the report, where North America and Europe have historically ranked as most-targeted. This trend signals a growing need for security investments amongst Asian organizations, particularly those in financial services and manufacturing, which were the most-targeted industries in the region. The new IBM cybersecurity centers will help address the most pressing need of the hour for organizations of all types, to accelerate their security strategies and align business priorities with a security-first approach.

The New IBM Security Command Center in Bengaluru, India trains businesses in the art of responding

 
Located at IBM offices at Embassy Golf Links in Bengaluru, India, the new facilities represent a strategic hub for IBM cybersecurity activities in the region, which also include IBM Managed Security Services, access to IBM’s team of incident response experts, as well as IBM Consulting, IBM Research, IBM India Software Labs, and IBM Garage, a collaborative approach designed to fast-track innovation and drive meaningful, lasting transformation for clients.

The new facilities were inaugurated in presence of Shri. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Shree Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Speaking at the virtual launch, Shri. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, "As India becomes the largest connected democracy in the world, our PM’s vision is that cyberspace will not just become a place for innovation, growth and opportunity, it will also become a place where the future standards and future technologies for securing the cyberspace evolve, mature and proliferate. I believe the Cybersecurity Hub launched by IBM today will go a long way in creating an ecosystem of not just awareness but also capabilities and talent in creating a safe cyberspace. I congratulate team IBM and look forward to a stronger partnership between the Government of India, our agencies, and IBM going forward with a common objective of realizing the Digital India mission and making sure that the Indian cyberspace becomes and remains safe and trusted."

Commenting on the launch, Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India said, "One of the biggest challenges impacting the success of the exponentially growing digital economy and that of countries across the world is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is a global challenge threatening enterprises more vigorously than ever before. We have an opportunity to respond and act now. We need cutting-edge technology and coming together of the entire ecosystem to address this threat and the launch of the IBM Cybersecurity Hub is, in fact, a response to this challenge. It will empower clients to respond to incidents with greater speed, effectiveness, and transparency."

"Preparing for a cyberattack is like fire-drill training. Everyone from executives through to contractors need to understand their own role in an emergency and reinforce the crucial response steps through practice,” said Chris Hockings, IBM Security CTO for Asia Pacific. “The new IBM Security Command Center is the first in Asia Pacific enabled to train the entire business in the art of response to a cyberattack event, further enhanced by the real-time experience of our security experts based in the adjoining global Security Operations Center. With Asia Pacific's enormous growth, diversity, and role in global supply chain, these capabilities can be a real game changer for helping customers face growing threats in the region."

Capabilities of the IBM Security Command Center

The highly realistic, immersive training simulations offered in the new IBM Security Command Center in Bengaluru leverage industry-leading audio and visual effects as well as live malware, ransomware and other real-world hacker tools. IBM designed the simulations after emergency and disaster response training models, in consultation with dozens of experts from different industries including emergency medical responders, active duty military officers and its incident response experts. The IBM Security Command Center in Bengaluru can deliver customized experiences and workshops - including virtually - that are tailored to organizations’ unique security requirements and objectives, leveraging the IBM Cyber Range Design consulting team.

Some examples of the types of trainings available include:

• Ox Response Challenge: Designed for the executive team to immerse a wide variety of stakeholders in a realistic "fusion team" environment in which players must figure out how to respond to a cyberattack as a team, across dimensions such as technical, legal and public relations.
• Operation Red Escape: Giving participants the opportunity to flip roles, it puts them in the ‘seat’ of a real-world attacker as an elite member of a growing adversarial group and develop a cloud-based attack on a major corporation. This non-technical interactive scenario allows business leaders to see first-hand how adversaries carry-out common cyberattacks on organizations with real adversarial tools and techniques.
• Cyber Wargame: In this hands-on scenario, participants uncover a cyber-attack lead by a cybercrime gang targeting a fictitious corporation. The Cyber Wargame tests the organization’s incident response process, communication and problem solving by positioning technical and business teams in the middle of a cyber security incident to see how they would work together to resolve it.

Expanding IBM’s Global Security Operation Center (SOC) Network

Adjacent to the new cyber range facility, IBM’s new Security Operations Center (SOC) will provide Managed Security Services (MSS) to clients across the globe. With capacity for 600 security response operators, it is the second IBM SOC in Bengaluru, with the other SOC continuing to specifically serve regional Indian clients. The new SOC is part of IBM’s vast global network of SOCs, which serve more than 2,000 clients around the world - managing more than 2 million endpoints and 150 billion potential security events per day. IBM’s global SOC network now includes 9 locations such as Atlanta (U.S.,) Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Poland, Saudi Arabia and more. It offers MSS investigation experts to assist with on-the-ground response, dedicated security experts with strong vertical expertise, personalized advisory services combined with a holistic approach to secure hybrid cloud environments. IBM’s SOC model leverages AI, machine learning and automation, bringing together human expertise and advanced technologies to help respond with speed, efficiency and transparency.

2022 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index Highlights

The 2022 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index announced today unveiled the following insights regarding the threat landscape in Asia:

• Financial services and manufacturing were the top attacked industries in Asia, representing nearly 60% of attacks studied.
• Japan, Australia and India were the most-attacked countries in the region.
• Top Attack Types: Server access attacks (20%) and ransomware (11%), Data theft (10%) were the top attack types observed in Asia.
• Initial Infection Methods: Vulnerability exploitation and phishing tied for the top infection vector at Asian organizations in 2021, each representing 43% of attacks observed in the region.
• Ransomware groups: REvil made up 33% of ransomware attacks analyzed, and Bitlocker, Nefilim, MedusaLocker and RagnarLocker were significant players as well.

To view the full results, visit: http://ibm.biz/xforcethreatindex

About IBM Security

IBM Security offers one of the most advanced and integrated portfolios of enterprise security products and services. The portfolio, supported by world-renowned IBM Security X-Force® research, enables organizations to effectively manage risk and defend against emerging threats. IBM operates one of the world's broadest security research, development and delivery organizations, monitors 150 billion+ security events per day in more than 130 countries, and has been granted more than 10,000 security patents worldwide. For more information, please check www.ibm.com/security, follow @IBMSecurity on Twitter or visit the IBM Security Intelligence blog.

[1] For purposes of this report, IBM considers Asia to include Australia, East and Southeast Asia, India, and the Pacific islands.

IBM Appoints Sandip Patel as India and South Asia MD

IBM on Wednesday said it has appointed Sandip Patel as managing director of its India and South Asia (ISA) operations.

He succeeds Karan Bajwa, who is quitting the company to pursue opportunities outside of IBM, the company said in a statement.

In his role, Patel will be responsible for all strategic and operational matters related to IBM's sales, marketing, services and delivery operations in the region, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

"Additionally, he will play a critical role in enabling India's capabilities across IBM's global missions, global centres of excellence, research and innovation labs," the company said.

Most recently, Patel was based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was IBM's global general manager for the Insurance industry and was responsible for the company's business across all brands in this market segment.

His extensive expertise in key industries, including financial services, insurance and healthcare, coupled with his global leadership experience will bring great value to IBM's clients and business in the region, it added.

"IBM has been a key player in India's technology journey and continues to provide the innovation necessary to power India's digital transformation across key industries and government," Harriet Green, Chairman and CEO of IBM Asia Pacific, said.

Patel's deep industry expertise and global understanding of clients across different markets will bring real value to our clients as they embark on their transformation journey, he added. Patel has also worked with Aetna international, PriceWaterhouse Coopers and Coopers & Lybrand.

IBM Now Has More Employees in India Than in the U.S.

In an interesting piece of news coming in, Armonk, New York-based global technology and innovation giant, IBM now employs 130,000 people in India, a figure that is about one-third of its total work force, and more than in any other country, including its home country.

IBM as a name needs no introduction. But, let’s have a quick recap of all that the company has managed to achieve since starting up. In its early years, the company eclipsed the era of computing with inventions like the mainframe and the floppy disk. Having offices all over New York and Silicon Valley, the company acquired the reputation of being known as a hub of American innovation long before words like Google and Microsoft became a part of our Tech dictionary.

However, ten years ago, the bosses at IBM decided to make a strategic change in the operations of the company and shifted its center of gravity all the way to the Indian subcontinent, which can be considered as a prime example of the globalisation trends that has been on the agenda of Trump administration for a couple of years now.

People working in IBM’s Indian division are providing their services for the entire gamut of IBM’s businesses, right from researching on emerging technologies like computer vision for self-driving cars, artificial intelligence etc. to managing the computing needs of global giants like Shell and AT&T. Currently, there’s also a team that is working together with Sesame Street producers to teach vocabulary in a fun way to kindergarteners in Atlanta.

Taking about the importance of IBM India to New York Times, Vanitha Narayanan, chairman of the company’s Indian operations said, “IBM India, in the truest sense, is a microcosm of the IBM company.” Narayanan works out of IBM’s main campus in Bangalore.

Opening its first Indian offices in Mumbai and Delhi in 1951, IBM has now spread across the whole country and has offices in Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

So, the question that arises here is, why India? The reason is, the cost factor. Setting up a strong grounding in a developing economy full with knowledgeable, educated engineers/researchers helps the giant in keeping down its cost, which has lately been an extremely crucial challenge for IBM as it has produced 21 consecutive quarters of revenue declines. The decline in revenue can be largely attributed to IBM’s dismal performance in rebranding and keeping alive its main business of supplying tech services to governments and corporations.

Not only is the land, water, air cheaper in India than the US, according to data posted by the research firm Glassdoor, the salaries paid to Indian workers are one-half to one-fifth those paid to Americans. This is what makes India a lucrative bet for IBM.

American tech companies shifting jobs abroad isn’t something new. It’s has now been happening for a couple of decades now. In addition to IBM, some other tech biggies whose majority of workers are employed outside of the US include Dell and Oracle. But, what makes IBM standout from them too is the fact that the company employs more people in a single foreign country than it does at its own home. According to statistics available, IBM’s employment in India has almost doubled in the last decade and at the same time, its workforce in the US has thinned considerably through frequent rounds of buyouts and layoffs.

While expanding its base in India, IBM also wants to make sure that they don’t earn the ire of anyone in its home country, especially its President Donald Trump who’s openly against American companies shifting their jobs abroad. Almost immediately after Trump acquired charge of the White House, IBM’s chief executive, Ginni Rometty, who has played a crucial part in carrying IBM’s India expansion strategy when she was head of IBM’s global services division, pledged to create 25,000 new American jobs. She also discussed plans with the US government on ways to modernise the technology they’re employing right now and how they can together work towards expanding the tech training for people without college degrees. In fact, Rometty also became a part of the President’s highly controversial, now-defunct business advisory councils.

Interestingly, IBM’s journey in India hasn’t always been so smooth. Following a dispute with the central government about foreign ownership rules, the company had left the country completely in the year 1978. But, the company soon came back to India by forming a joint venture with Tata in the year 1993. While on its return, the plan was just to assemble and sell personal computers and make money, IBM soon realised that vast potential that India as a country had to offer, both as a market and a base to serve global customers. The company soon took full control of its joint-venture with Tata and formed an Indian branch of its research labs.

This development was first reported in The New York Times.