As smart grid is giving rise to the continuing growth of concern and research interest, it is expected to be able to provide a more intelligent way to operate the facilities in transmission and distribution systems and better benefit the utility companies. Meanwhile, development and application of new technologies enable managers of the utility company to monitor, supervise and optimize distribution network in a more comprehensively manner. On the other hand, distribution systems face new challenges in such a new environment that it requires for further development and implementation of the features while smart consumption of electricity is needed for both the utility companies and end users. This paper introduces IBM Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) which includes incident management, integrated mapping and collaboration capabilities. In order to meet challenges in distribution network operation and maintenance(O&M) management, IOC is adapted to achieve centralized management of distribution system O&M. It integrates much functionality like measurement, monitoring and subsystems into a new platform and provides necessary information in a more effective way that enhances O&M management efficiency and contributes to coordination, cooperation and decision-making especially in emergency scenarios. The IOC deployment consists of GIS/SVG based global surveillance, event based cockpit and Key Performance Indices based cockpit. Finally, an application in HengQin power system proves the feasibility and validity of the IBM IOC in distribution system O&M management.