UPDATE 1-IBM sees double-digit growth in analytics biz

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) - A senior IBM (IBM.N) executive said on Tuesday the company expects double-digit growth in its analytics business, a combination of analytical software and consulting services, despite a weak economy that has forced many companies to cut back on spending.

"We're driving a plan for double-digit growth," Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive of IBM's software group, told Reuters in an interview. He added that such growth also means strong market share growth.

His comment come after IBM earlier announced plans to buy business analytics company SPSS Inc SPSS.O for $1.2 billion to better compete with Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) and SAP AG (SAPG.DE) in the growing field of business intelligence.

SPSS provides software and services to help companies forecast trends and spot shifts in consumer patterns, which IBM said would fit well with its existing analytics offerings.

Mills said IBM did not plan to cut costs at SPSS, but rather intended to add resources.

"We would expect to add to existing sales," he said, adding that more IBM sales staff would also be trained to sell SPSS software.

Mills also said demand for analytics was substantially higher than other services that have seen a cutback in customer spending amid the economic downturn.

"There is no lack of customer interest," he said. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando, editing by Maureen Bavdek)