LOTUS OUTLINES PLANS TO DELIVER WEB-ENABLED BUSINESS APPLICATION
FRAMEWORKS

NOTES-BASED EAPPS ENABLE RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF CORPORATE PUBLISHING,
MARKETING, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE APPLICATIONS FOR THE
WORLD WIDE WEB

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 22, 1996 -- Lotus Development Corp. today outlined its
plans for a set of Lotus Notes-based "electronic application frameworks"
(eApps) that allow customers to rapidly deploy Web- enabled business
applications. First unveiled by Lotus in December as part of its strategy
for embracing the web, eApps frameworks will provide a set of "building
blocks" specifically designed to extend to the Internet a corporation's
publishing, marketing, customer service or electronic commerce
applications.

"With eApps, Lotus is providing companies with the tools they need to
extend and run their businesses on the Internet," said James Dougherty,
general manager, Lotus Internet Applications Group. "Companies will have a
customizable set of building blocks, including integrated access to their
legacy applications, that will enable them to easily extend their core
business processes, such as customer service, out to millions of Internet
users. eApps will allow companies to leverage the Internet to expand their
businesses and create new business opportunities."

Lotus will initially offer eApps frameworks in four core business areas:

PUBLISHING - gives the customer the ability to publish almost any form of
information via Notes to the Web. It also provides secure and controlled
distribution of information that can be accessed by a Notes client or Web
browser;

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS - allows for the fulfillment of customer requests
(both internal and external) for publications, documents, account status
updates and customer demographics;

CUSTOMER SERVICE - provides templates and secure bi-directional
capabilities to and from the Internet to enable companies to use Notes as
the back-end engine for customer support databases; and

COMMERCE - provides a secure way for customers to order and buy products
and services over the Internet.

"eApps will allow us to extend our large commitment to Notes for sharing
and bringing teams together to include non-Notes users," said Bill Wilson,
senior vice president, Johnson & Higgins. "With eApps we can combine the
strengths of our Notes applications with the Web to create powerful new
business solutions."

Lotus Business Partners will realize significant new business opportunities
with eApps, including integrating and customizing building blocks into
existing Notes applications for specific customer needs. Building blocks
can also be used to create new customized eApps.

BUILDING BLOCKS CREATE EAPPS FRAMEWORKS

eApps frameworks consist of building blocks -- sets of closely tied,
interconnected tools each dedicated to a specific task. Eight building
blocks will be available to create eApps frameworks:

o Catalog consists of forms and fields designed to help create and manage
product information for publication on the Web in a traditional catalog
presentation. Tools are included that enable users or "shoppers" to flip
through the catalog and place items in their "shopping cart." When they
are finished shopping, the cost of the items is automatically totaled.
Catalog also includes tools to enable specified information or content to
be viewed only by authorized users.

o Interactive extends the Notes document/response model to the Internet for
better management of threaded discussions. Interactive also allows
documents to be composed or responded to by either a Notes client or Web
browser. Interactive also supports forms. For example, a user can complete
an order form on the Web that will automatically be submitted into a Notes
database.

o Order Processing interfaces with catalog and payment building blocks to
facilitate transactions and create an order history database. By adding
this building block, any of the frameworks inherit commerce capabilities.
For example, by adding this building block to the Customer Support
framework, a user can take orders for maintenance contracts, support plans
or product documentation.

o  Publishing includes SmartMasters and ready-to-use Notes templates, with
built-in formatting for publishing in Notes or on the Web. Users can
preview how their publication will look using a particular SmartMaster
before publishing their data.

o  SmartMasters include formats that create more sophisticated looking Web
pages than could be produced using the Lotus InterNotes Web Publisher.
Notes templates provide a consistency of functionality, look and feel and
support for security between Notes and Web versions of documents. The
templates also support the automatic conversion of RTF and ASCII content
into Notes and HTML formats.

o  Subscription Management leverages Notes' workflow and approval
mechanisms to process subscriptions. It also includes a security module to
ensure that material is made available by those authorized to receive it.

o  Security enables Web browser security information such as registration,
name and password to be stored in a Notes database. When a user attempts
to access information on the Web or in Notes using a browser, the user's
password and ID will be verified in the Notes database before access to
the information is granted.

o  Payment supports secure transmission of credit card data over the Web.
When credit card information is entered for payment, a message for
approval is sent to a credit card clearinghouse which sends back a message
either approving or denying the purchase.

o  Lotus plans to integrate support for SEPP (Secure Electronic Payment
Protocol), the open method of secure credit-card payments supported by
IBM, into the Payment building block.

o  Legacy Integration allows companies to tie data from mainframe systems
into Web-enabled applications. Legacy Integration will support most
standard databases including DB2, Oracle and Sybase.

Combinations of these building blocks form a framework. For example, in the
Customer Support framework the Publishing building block would extend the
posting of issues, notices and forums to the Web. The Interactive building
block would enable customers to fill out a form on the Web to report
customer support issues that could then be integrated into the company's
existing Notes-based customer service application. The Catalog building
block would allow customers to read through the company's support
offerings on the Web. Adding the Order Processing building block would
enable the customer to order a software upgrade or a new maintenance
contract.

LOTUS NOTES:NEWSSTAND ON THE WEB IS THE FIRST EAPP

Lotus Notes:Newsstand on the Web, also being announced at Lotusphere, is
the first implementation of a Publishing eApps framework. Newsstand on the
Web is a network-based service and set of publishing and subscription
management tools for delivering business and industry publications to
users of the World Wide Web. Newsstand on the Web, which will be available
in the second quarter of 1996, is made up of the Publishing, Security,
Interactive and Subscription building blocks.

Newsstand on the Web will be based on the bundle Lotus will deliver in Q1
1996 that includes an HTTP server, the InterNotes Web Publisher and a
Notes server. Beginning in midyear 1996, all eApps will be based on a
completely integrated HTTP Notes server.

Lotus Notes is the leading client-server platform for developing and
deploying strategic groupware applications that help organizations
communicate, collaborate and coordinate strategic business processes
within and beyond their organizational boundaries to achieve improved
business results. More than 8,000 companies and 4.5 million people use
Notes to improve key business processes such as customer service, sales
and account management, and product development. Lotus Notes supports all
major operating systems including IBM OS/2 Warp, Apple Mac OS, UNIX
platforms including IBM AIX, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and SCO OpenServer, and
Microsoft Windows and Windows NT. Notes is also available as a NetWare
loadable module for the Novell environment.

Lotus Development Corp., a subsidiary of IBM Corp., offers high quality
software products and support services that reflect the company's unique
understanding of the new ways in which individuals and businesses must
work together to achieve success. Lotus' innovative approach is evident in
a new class of applications that allows information to be accessed and
communicated in ways never before possible, both within and beyond
organizational boundaries. The company also provides numerous support
services, both from its consulting division and its award-winning 24-hour
support center.

EDITOR'S NOTE: All Lotus news releases are available on the Internet, via
the Lotus Development Corp. Home Page at http://www.Lotus.com. The Lotus
Home Page is an easy way to find information about Lotus and its business
partners' products and services.

A copy of this release and other company information is also available via
fax by dialing 1-800-57-LOTUS within the U.S. and Canada or 201-946-2336
outside the U.S. and Canada. Questions concerning the service should be
directed to Lotus' corporate communications department at 617-693-5625.
 
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