The report noted that IBM’s sales of such software rose 6 percent from 2006, while total worldwide sales of the software by all vendors grew last year to more than $3.1 billion.

Further, IDC anticipates revenues to rise to $5.3 billion by 2012, IBM said.

A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, or about 80,000 times thinner than a human hair.

T.C. Chen, vice president of science and technology at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, said the breakthrough is a key achievement in the continued miniaturization of microelectronics. “We are working at the ultimate edge of what is possible,” Chen said.

The chip size of 22 nanometers is two generations away from today’s smallest scale for chip manufacturing, which is 45 nanometers. That’s the size IBM employs at its giant chip plant in East Fishkill.

IBM’s work in Albany is with AMD, Freescale, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY-Albany.

The Albany site is the most advanced university-based nanoelectronics research complex in the world, IBM said.

Last month, IBM said it would expand its operations at Albany NanoTech by investing about $375 million, which is expected to create 325 research and development jobs there. The state will provide $25 million in aid as well.

The deal was part of a larger $1.5 billion investment in New York facilities by IBM and a total state aid package of $140 million.

The data center will include new technologies and services that will enable the computing giant to provide individuals with access to information and services from any device with high levels of quality and availability, IBM said.

IBM will renovate an existing building at the North Carolina campus to create one of the most technologically advanced and energy-efficient data centers in the world, it said.

Nishimuro, 72, is chairman of the board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc.

Nishimuro’s knowledge and insights into Asian markets will make a significant contribution to IBM, said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel J. Palmisano.

The deal will enable the Armonk-based computing giant to combine its business process management, business optimization and service oriented architecture technologies with Ilog’s business rules management systems software, IBM said.

IBM’s offer represents a 37 percent premium above Ilog’s closing price on Friday.

The deal has the approval of the Ilog board, which will make a decision on the deal before Sept. 15, after which the offer will be filed with the French stock exchange authority.

Shares of Big Blue rose fractionally in trading today to $126.48 each.

These emerging-market countries, so-called because of their high economic growth potential, represented 19 percent of IBM’s geographic revenue in the second quarter, and as a group grew 21 percent, IBM said.

“These results demonstrate that IBM has the ability to thrive in emerging markets,” said Bruno Di Leo, IBM general manager of growth markets. “Our continued investment give IBM a competitive edge,” he said.

The centers of excellence include a banking operation in China, a retail innovation center in Guadalajara, Mexico, and a management center in India, IBM said.

The Dublin-based facility, to be called IBM Centre of Excellence for Water Management, will monitor changes in fresh water, and marine and oceanic environments, IBM and the IDA said.

One of the center’s first tasks will be to work with Ireland’s Marine Institute on SmartBay, a research project that monitors and manages aquatic data, such as tidal flow, wave heights and temperature, through a network of sensors, robotics and other technology throughout Ireland’s Galway Bay.

IBM will develop an advanced sensor network, and use real-time monitoring and other technologies to provide scientists, commercial fishers, monitoring agencies and the public with environmental information, similar to weather and marine forecasts.

“The Marine Institute’s aim is to create a mind shift in the way we view our marine sector in terms of economic opportunities,” said Peter Heffernan, chief executive of the Marine Institute.

Novel technologies that emerge from SmartBay will create new business for a wide range of Irish companies, Heffernan said, and enhance “the viability of the seafood, shipping and water-monitoring sectors.”