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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.

The aim of the effort, according to James Corgel, general manager for developer relations in I.B.M.’s software group, is largely to nurture a new wave of start-ups that “amplify and fit into the Smarter Planet framework.”

The I.B.M. software will be made available to the start-ups as a cloud service, which they can tap into over the Web.

Besides software, start-ups can also get one-on-one sessions with I.B.M. scientists and coaching on sales and marketing tactics. “More and more, people are asking us how to build a business,” Mr. Corgel said.

The I.B.M. program points to the company’s broader designs. To really succeed, the Smarter Planet campaign has to go beyond being a deft marketing concept.  It must also be the foundation for I.B.M.’s future growth, and the company’s $24 billion-a-year software business is vital to that strategy.

The aid to start-ups is intended to make I.B.M. software, especially its WebSphere middleware, the preferred technology platform for developers working on the emerging applications in many fields. In short, I.B.M. wants to make its software the equivalent of a Web-based operating system for Smarter Planet-style applications.

Mr. Corgel pointed to young companies that have been working with I.B.M. technology to develop such applications, like TaKaDu, an Israeli start-up that makes software to curb water leakage and loss by utilities, and TreeMetrics, an Irish start-up whose software helps lumber companies optimize tree-harvesting.

Key obstacles faced by start-ups, said Promod Haque, managing partner of Norwest Venture Partners, are controlling costs, getting the right technology tools, gaining access to customers and developing business plans. “The I.B.M. program addresses all those issues,” Mr. Haque noted.

The I.B.M. program is global in scope. The announcement is being made at a company-sponsored venture partnering event in Bangalore, India. The company plans to work with 19 technology associations worldwide to identify promising local start-ups for the program. I.B.M. already has 40 centers around the world for working with local software developers.