IBM is nearing completion of its $1.2 billion global investment as the company will open a SoftLayer data centre in London.

The newest facility will provide Softlayer services and will work hand-in-hand with the existing SoftLayer Amsterdam data centre and London network Point of Presence (PoP) launched in 2012.

"We already have a large customer base in London and the region; we're excited to give those customers a full SoftLayer data center right in their backyard, with all the privacy, security, and control the SoftLayer platform offers. The work these businesses are doing-the solutions and services that they are building in the cloud-is inspiring. Organisations of all sizes are using SoftLayer services to disrupt their industries or even their own operations, creating new business models and applications," Lance Crosby, SoftLayer CEO, said in a statement.

One big customer for IBM is MobFox that is currently delivering impressions of more than 150 billion for clients including Nike, Heineken, EA, eBay, BMW, Netflix, Expedia, and McDonalds.

"MobFox has been working with SoftLayer for a couple of years. London is a key location for company like ours, operating in digital advertising space and serving global clients. We are very excited about the option of deploying SoftLayer servers directly here, " Julian Zehetmayr, MobFox CEO said.

In January, IBM announced its commitment to $1.2 billion global investment through establishing 40 data centres that will deliver cloud services in 15 countries and five continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

New data centres to launch are China, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, London, Japan, India, Canada, Mexico City and Dallas, with plans of expanding in the Middle East and Africa in 2015.

"IBM is continuing to invest in high growth areas. Last year, IBM made a big investment adding the $2 billion acquisition of SoftLayer to its existing high value cloud portfolio. Today's announcement is another major step in driving a global expansion of IBM's cloud footprint and helping clients drive transformation," Erich Clementi, senior vice president of IBM Global Technology Service said.

In June, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott lauded IBM's partnership with P-TECH high school in Broadway.

"Through P-TECH, IBM is working with educators in school districts and higher education to redesign high schools - expanding them from four to six years so that students graduate with both a high school diploma and an Associate in Applied Science degree. Equipped with these degrees, graduates will be prepared to embark upon entry-level careers in the IT industry or continue their education," IBM Australia said in a statement.

"I was delighted to visit P-TECH while in New York. I believe this is an innovative and valuable education model for us to consider in Australia," Abbott said after the school visit.