I.B.M’s Bid to Woo Software Start-Ups
I.B.M. wants to enlist fledgling software companies in its Smarter Planet strategy, which seeks to apply technology to big challenges like improving the efficiency of energy use, water management, transportation and health care.
To entice start-ups to its camp, the International Business Machines Corporation on Wednesday is announcing that it will offer them free access to the company’s software for up to three years. To qualify, companies must be private, in business for less than three years and developing software that is in sync with the I.B.M. strategy.