IBM to give access to software codes

IBM Corp will allow the government access to its software codes in a bid to get an entry into the billion-dollar government procurement market, a senior executive said.

The company is the first overseas tech major to publicly announce such a move.

IBM agreed to let the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and its certified institutes to examine IBM products in a "cleanroom" to make sure they conform to national information security policies, said Steve Mills, senior vice-president of IBM software and systems unit.