IBM is set to launch a hosted version of its Lotus Notes collaboration software.

Although details of the offering are still vague, pricing will range from $8 to $18 (£4 to £10) per seat, depending on the level of functionality offered, according to Bob Picciano, general manager of IBM Lotus Software and WebSphere Portal.

The firm expects organisations of between 500 to 1,000 seats, and anything up to 10,000 seats, to be keen to invest in the on-demand version of the software.

"There is a whole new opportunity with advanced collaboration fuelled and compelled by advances in the Web 2.0 world," said Picciano. "We plan to serve the requirements of companies small and large."

The product could also feature tight integration with the Lotus Connections enterprise social software offering, although further details will be released "within a single digit number" of weeks, said Picciano.