Technology giant IBM Corporation has said that it is going to base its new Watson Health business in the Boston area, though exactly where it will be located and how many people it will hire has not been disclosed yet. Boston area is a worldwide center for health care, drug research, and biotechnology.

Watson Health was named after the IBM artificial intelligence platform that has beaten human contestants in the television quiz show 'Jeopardy'.

Watson Health will be storing and analyzing huge volumes of information on everything from patients' health to clinical trials, and will provide a range of services based on that data to researchers, physicians, and health insurers.

In an interview, Watson Health vice president Stephen Gold, said, "The global market for health is $7 trillion. We see this as an opportunity to gain insight into this data that can be useful in helping provide a better health experience and quality of care for individuals".

IBM is all set to devote substantial resources to the venture. It will field about 2,000 consultants across the world, including some who are already at the company and new hires. Gold mentioned that the company could hire hundreds in the Boston area from within its existing ranks and externally.

Gold said that besides Boston, the company will also add staff to its operations in New York and elsewhere to work on Watson Health. Michael D. Rhodin, a senior vice president for IBM Watson who is based in New York, will lead the new business.

To launch an Internet-based computing platform, the company will call Watson Health Cloud. IBM has also acquired a pair of data analytic companies, Explorys of Cleveland and Phytel of Dallas, to help in the effort.

The company has forged partnerships with many blue-chip companies, including Apple Inc. in consumer electronics, Johnson & Johnson in health care and biopharmaceuticals, and Medtronic Inc. in medical devices for exploring ways of better using health data.