IBM Global Services Monday launched a chain of e-business innovation centers -- brick-and-mortar facilities designed to offer e-business customers a one-stop area for working on both front-end and back-end technology for their sites.

Monday was the grand opening for centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C., with plans to bring centers to Boston, Los Angeles and New York as well as Germany, the U.K., Italy and France in the next six months.

The centers will act as a location where IBM business strategists, marketing specialists, interactive designers, application developers and systems integration specialists are available to IBM's e-business customers.

"Places, people and partnerships -- they are a powerful combination," said Neil Isford, vice president, E-Business Services, at a press conference Monday. "All business processes need to be re-looked at."

"Successful e-businesses combine business strategy, marketing, interactive design and technology to create competitive advantage," said Doug Elix, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Global Services. "These centers provide a place for customers to work collaboratively with industry experts with the business knowledge and technical insight to manage the complexity, so our customers can manage their business."

To aid in the services offered by the centers, IBM Monday announced partnerships with a number of online companies.

Among the partners initially selected to participate are AnswerThink, The Coleman Group Worldwide, Internet Research Group, OgilvyOne, RGA Interactive, DoubleClick, net.Genesis and Net Perceptions.