The information technology hub has access to IBM's Watson technology and can offer a variety of data analytic services. IBM also provides technical services and support to state agencies from the hub.

Part of IBM’s plan to build the Innovation Center’s cadre of clients for its data analytics and other tech services is to tap into the company’s Watson computing platform, which uses natural language processing and machine learning to sift through large amounts of unstructured data.

Analysts at the Innovation Center will be able to tap into its capabilities, which can be a valuable tool in helping clients, especially in the health care field, make sense out of vast amounts of often-unrelated and hard-to-categorize data.

The Innovation Center is aimed at bolstering a local technology sector in the region that is undersized by national standards.

"The IT hub was designed to grow IT jobs in Western New York," said Howard Zemsky, the Buffalo developer who serves as president of Empire State Development.

The state spent $55 million on the project, including $30 million to acquire the software that center uses. The other $25 million was used to buy seven floors in the Key Center for the IBM facility and then build it out and equip it.