International Business Machines Corp. opened a center today for computing systems in Beijing to help customers and outside software engineers develop business applications for the open-source Linux operating system.

The facility will aid creation of programs for big data, cloud, mobile and social-business computing and represents “a sizable investment,” Colin Parris, general manager of IBM Power Systems, said in an interview. He declined to say how much the company spent or how many workers were employed.

IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty is focusing on profitable businesses including data analysis and cloud computing to maintain growth. She has said services that help customers mine troves of information to make better decisions are the company’s biggest priority.

“China is an environment in which you have some of the largest challenges,” Parris said by phone from Beijing. “If you solve those adequately in China, what you have is a capability to deliver that solution around the world.”

The Beijing center is the company’s first to focus on Linux applications for IBM’s Power Systems-brand servers, Parris said. The center will collaborate with Linux distributors Red Hat Inc. and Attachmate Group’s SUSE, he said.

The center will help develop data analytics and systems for urban infrastructure including managing air quality, water and transportation systems, Parris said. Solutions developed at the new Beijing center will work well in other regions, including Africa, he said.

— With assistance by Edmond Lococo