IBM is to open a cloud computing centre in Johannesburg enabling a range of services to share computing resources and bandwidth from any location on a range of devices.

Big Blue is also building a similar centre in China, the second of its kind in the country.

The shift to cloud computing has been fuelled by dramatic growth in business collaboration, connected devices, real-time data streams and web 2.0 applications, the company said.

The new centres are designed to help clients tackle issues they would not otherwise be able to address through access to a global network of 39 Innovation Centres and 60 research and development labs.

For example, a university could access the computational power of a supercomputer to analyse data on-demand rather than having to invest in the hardware upfront.

"These centres will enable our clients in China and sub-Saharan Africa to better embrace the services-based global economy," said Nick Donofrio, executive vice president of innovation and technology at IBM.

"Much like the power-generation and manufacturing infrastructures before it, the data centre continues to consolidate for scale and become increasingly more efficient and interconnected with partners and the public internet infrastructure."

The new centres are part of IBM's overall investment in the world's growth markets, to which the company committed an additional $1.6bn earlier this year.

IBM has also set aside $120m over two years to capitalise on the skills and expertise of emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Africa Innovation Centre will showcase web 2.0 technologies, service-oriented architecture, systems management, next-generation banking systems and environmentally friendly computing designs.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, said at the opening ceremony: "We are highly energised by IBM's investment because it directly responds to our call for increased private sector investment into sustainable initiatives that advance priority technical skills.

"It is also encouraging that the company plans to integrate the entire sub-Saharan Africa, which assures us that we will secure a thriving South Africa in a prosperous region in the long term."