Known as the European IBM Institute for Advanced Security and based in Brussels, the plan is for the institute to help clients, academics, partners and other businesses more easily understand, address and mitigate the issues associated with securing cyberspace.
According to Big Blue, the institute will also seek to foster linkups between public and private sector organisations, as well as opening up links with IBM's own research, services, software and technology experts.
Resources available will include briefings and demonstrations at a number of IBM Research Labs and Executive Briefing Centres, which include IBM Hursley in the UK and IBM Zurich Labs in Switzerland.
Commenting on the launch, Robert Havas, chairman of EOS – the European Organisation for Security – said that he is delighted to see the institute's arrival.
"IT and Cyber Security are inseparable topics that require the highest attention of the European Commission. This IBM initiative will help to drive even greater awareness of security", he said.
Over at IBM, Martin Borrett, Big Blue's European lead security architect, and the director of the new institute, said that IBM's European clients rely upon vast amounts of information stored on distributed computer systems and openly shared across public and private networks.
Yet despite this, he added, many of them are struggling to effectively secure this critical information.
"The Institute for Advanced Security will link these organisations with IBM's broad array of security scientists, researchers and experts to help them understand the complex issues associated with addressing their cyber security challenges", he explained.