IBM said Wednesday that it's opening a research facility in Barcelona that will focus on helping Spanish and Portuguese tech startups grow through innovation.

IBM experts at the center, which will be co-located with existing IBM facilities in the Spanish city, will help entrepreneurial-driven software companies use a combination of IBM and open-source software to build, test, and optimize business applications. In some cases, advice will be offered free of charge.

With technology spending expected to increase by 4.2% this year, Spain is one of Europe's fastest growing high-tech markets. By contrast, tech spending across all of Europe will increase 3.1% this year, according to the European Information Technology Observatory.

Wednesday's announcement comes several weeks after IBM launched the European Venture Capital Center in Dublin, designed to build stronger ties with the European venture-backed startup community. IBM also recently revealed that it will open a new IBM Innovation Center in Ireland next year to provide local startups with computing resources and expertise.