IBM has reached out its sizeable hand to the little people in the biz world with the launch today of a new range of software products.

Like many other big names vendors the firm said it had spotted an opportunity to offer software tailored for the small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) global market.

The somewhat Orwellian-sounding IBM Rational Build Forge Express Edition has been specifically designed for SMBs to get jiggy with their process management.

The tech giant said the software should enable businesses to standardise and automate end-to-end software release processes as well as implement compliance.

Meanwhile, over in the blue corner, the IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Entry Edition box of software has been punted to SMBs that want to monitor their network infrastructures.

IBM wasn't shy to admit that it hoped to "capitialise" on the SMB IT spending boom in China, Brazil, Russia and India.

The firm has decided to sell its Rational product direct on its website for $49,000 per server from 23 October.

No word on Tivoli's pricing or availability date, however. ®

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