NCR Corporation , a global leader in omni-channel solutions, today announces the NCR Innovation Lab, a brand new research and development hub, which will focus on cross-functional research, innovation, and design-thinking. The NCR Innovation Lab will bring together NCR’s R&D teams with its global innovation labs to drive a unified omni-channel focus and build upon NCR’s position as a leader in the digitally connected economy.

To be located in NCR’s new global headquarters under construction in Atlanta, the NCR Innovation Lab will keep NCR at the forefront of new technologies and innovations, including in the areas of mobile, big-data, cloud, Internet of Things, machine learning, and predictive analytics, to leverage them to deliver innovative solutions for digital commerce in a wide variety of industries. The company will develop new APIs to enable digitally integrated businesses and create new revenue generating opportunities in the API enabled economy.

“The NCR Innovation Lab will accelerate our transformation to a platform based business model. We are living in exciting times where developers and customers from various ecosystems co-create and exchange value, which is changing the way we research, innovate, and design and think about our solutions and offerings,” said Eli Rosner, chief technology officer and senior vice president of software solutions, NCR.

“Omni-channel has evolved. It is now a strategic, end-to-end solution with a horizontal opportunity across all industries, in every geography, and for all tiers of customers,” Rosner continued. “NCR has a big role in shaping this industry, enabling digitally integrated businesses, and powering the digital economy for our customers.”

The first challenge the NCR Innovation Lab took on was a ”90-Day Challenge” – a program that brought together R&D and Product teams to design and develop new solutions. The program resulted in a working demo and several patent application filings earlier this year. The NCR Innovation Lab will continue to run ”90-Day Challenge” programs, as well as solutions-focused Hackathons and several other activities to promote innovation.

“Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing technology centers in the nation, and is emerging as an international hub for technology,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “NCR’s Innovation Lab will be a key addition to Atlanta’s vibrant innovation community of research institutions, corporations, start-ups and organizations developing game-changing technologies that will shape our future.”

The NCR Innovation Lab intends to work and collaborate with researchers and students at Georgia Tech, the developer community in the state of Georgia and around the globe, and other companies, including start-ups and customers, on innovation.  These engagements and innovations should also help to create additional business opportunities.

“In Georgia, we are fortunate to have a diverse array of centers and incubators that are forging new pathways in digital integration, putting our state at the forefront of progress in the industry,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Carr. “We are excited that industry giant NCR will also open their innovation lab here, and we look forward to seeing the new ideas that spawn from this collaborative space.”