Lotus Outlines Extensive Desktop Marketing Programs, Announces SmartSuite
Price Reduction

Marketing Initiatives Include Increased Advertising, Word Pro Conversion
Assistance, Bundle Agreements and New Demo CD with Trial Software

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 15, 1996 - Building on marketing initiatives
designed to fuel the growth of the company's business applications
division outlined at Lotusphere in January, Lotus Development Corp. today
outlined a new, lower pricing strategy for its SmartSuite business
productivity software suite. Qualified users can now upgrade to SmartSuite
for Windows or OS/2 for $149, making SmartSuite the lowest priced complete
business application suite. The new price is part of an aggressive
marketing effort designed to expand Lotus' share of the suite market.

Lotus today also outlined several other new marketing initiatives,
including:

* An extensive global desktop advertising campaign expanding beyond
corporate users to include small office, home office and small-to-medium
sized business users;

* The Lotus Gallery 96 CD, an interactive showcase of Lotus' latest product
releases, including free trial software, distributed in major retail
publications;

* A WordPerfect to Word Pro SwitchKit software package and manual; and

* A SmartSuite and Word Pro bundle agreement with Hewlett Packard's DeskJet
600 printers.

"These marketing initiatives are key to our plans to aggressively win new
desktop customers and to expand SmartSuite's market share to more than 20
percent in 1996. In fact, we have already seen evidence of our progress
toward this goal," said Jeff Papows, executive vice president and chief
operating officer. "With superior team computing features, Notes and
Internet integration, SmartSuite has been recognized as the best suite for
Windows 95, as evidenced by our recent award in PC Week. With our
aggressive pricing structure and the resources of IBM, we are building a
strong position in the business applications market."

SmartSuite and Organizer Win PC Week IT Excellence Award

In the April 1 issue of PC Week Magazine, PC Week Labs selected Lotus
SmartSuite 96 for Windows 95 and Organizer 2.1 as winners in the Business
Productivity category of its First Annual IT Excellence Awards. These
awards "recognize products that faced the challenges of PC Week Labs'
tests and proved to meet the enterprise-wide needs of corporate IT
professionals through excellence in product design and implementation."

PC Week states, "SmartSuite 96 is a suite in the true meaning of the word,
with strong document management and Internet access features. Lotus
Organizer's notebook approach is easy to navigate, and its flexible group
scheduling options range from its own stand-alone server to
enterprise-wide scheduling via Lotus Notes or cc:Mail."

"As a strong second player in the desktop suite market, Lotus has driven
true innovation in this space," said Bob Flanagan, director of Internet
and Collaborative Computing Research, the Yankee Group. "One has only to
consider the Team Computing features and Internet integration in
SmartSuite to see the level of innovation Lotus has delivered. These new
marketing efforts will accelerate the steady increased adoption of
SmartSuite 96 as an attractive alternative to Microsoft Office."

New Pricing Sets SmartSuite as the Value Leader

At its new $149 upgrade price, SmartSuite is the value leader in the suite
market, providing users with the most complete suite of business
applications including: the Word Pro word processor, 1-2-3 spreadsheet,
Freelance Graphics presentation graphics package; Approach database;
Organizer personal information manager; and ScreenCam multimedia tool. All
current users of SmartSuite or individual Lotus desktop applications, and
users of qualifying competing suites, spreadsheets, word processors,
databases and presentation graphics packages are eligible for the new
upgrade price. Pricing has also been significantly lowered for customers
of Passport, Lotus' volume purchase discount plan.

Desktop Advertising Campaign Targets Expanded Audience

Lotus has also initiated an extensive desktop advertising campaign
targeting small office, home office and small-to-medium sized business
users. The program, which began on March 18, includes newspaper and radio
advertising throughout North America and includes seminars and Lotus Demo
Days at major retailers.

In addition, Lotus is widely distributing the Lotus Gallery 96 CD, an
interactive showcase CD of Lotus' latest product offerings, including free
trial software. The Gallery has been distributed to more than 150,000
resellers and VARs via trade publications, including Computer Reseller
News and Computer Retail Week. The Lotus Gallery offers users a free 45
day trial of all Lotus SmartSuite 96 for Windows applications including
1-2-3, Word Pro, Approach, Freelance Graphics, Organizer and ScreenCam.
The Gallery CD also includes:

* Video clips and ScreenCam movies demonstrating product features;

* Detailed product information, including white papers on products such as
SmartSuite and Notes;

* A free screensaver; and

* An opportunity to win a Tektronix color printer.

* Conversion Kit Helps WordPerfect Users Move to Lotus Word Pro

To assist users moving from WordPerfect, Lotus today announced the
WordPerfect to Word Pro SwitchKit. The kit consists of software that
installs directly into Word Pro, adding a new "Help for WordPerfect Users"
option in the Word Pro Help menu. Also included is a SwitchKit manual that
describes the Word Pro software and how to use it; addresses conversion of
WordPerfect files to Word Pro format; and offers users new ways to perform
WordPerfect tasks in Word Pro.

The SwitchKit allows users familiar with WordPerfect for Windows or DOS to
leverage their knowledge of WordPerfect to learn how to use Word Pro. By
utilizing Word Pro's "Ask the Expert" functionality, users gain assistance
performing tasks in Word Pro. For North American customers, the SwitchKit
will be available on disk this month for both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95
versions of Word Pro. To receive the kit free of charge, customers can
call 1-800-TRADEUP, extension B690, or find it on Lotus' Home Page,
http://www.lotus.com.

Bundling Agreements Expand SmartSuite Distribution and Internet Offerings

Continuing efforts to expand SmartSuite distribution, Lotus is bundling
Word Pro and a trial version of SmartSuite with Hewlett-Packard DeskJet
600 printers. Under this agreement, continuing through the end of 1996,
SmartSuite will ship with some 2.5 million HP printers in Europe. A Lotus
CD with Word Pro and a trial version of SmartSuite will be available in
French, Italian, German, Spanish and International English, and will
include 10 free hours of Compuserve connection in French, German and
International English. The Compuserve installation will take users
directly to a Lotus home page that will offer information on HP DeskJet
printers and the appropriate Lotus applications.

Combining the HP agreement with the bundling agreements announced in
January, Lotus SmartSuite is now offered with the following, reaching an
estimated 8 million users:

AST - SmartSuite on AST Advantage! computers in the United States and
Canada

Acer - SmartSuite on Acer Aspire computers in the United States and Canada

Epson - SmartSuite on Epson's ActionNote 910C laptops in the United States
and Canada

HP - SmartSuite and Word Pro on HP DeskJet 600 printers in Europe

IBM - SmartSuite on all Aptiva, ThinkPad, and IBM 300 and 700 series
computers globally

In addition to the extensive built-in Internet capabilities available now
in SmartSuite, Lotus has also established partnerships with Internet
providers to insure users can easily connect to the Internet. SmartSuite
96 for Windows 95 and SmartSuite 4.0 for Windows 3.1 will continue to
include America Online's Global Network Navigator (GNN), an Internet
browser and access service, through September 1996 in the United States.
The GNN will also be bundled with Lotus Word Pro and Lotus 1-2-3, and will
offer users two months and 30 hours free connect time.

Compuserve software customized for Lotus, that incorporates the Spry Mosaic
browser, is also being included in all SmartSuite, 1-2-3, Word Pro,
Approach and Freelance Graphics products beginning this month. The
Compuserve bundle offers users one month and 10 hours free connect time,
plus an additional 20 free hours if customers subscribe by September 30,
1996. The Compuserve bundle is available in the United States and Canada,
and also will be available in the U.K. under the same terms beginning May
1, 1996.

Lotus began shipping SmartSuite 96 for Windows 95 in November 1995.
SmartSuite 4.0 for Windows 3.1 began shipping in August 1995. Lotus also
plans to ship a suite of new OS/2 applications, including Word Pro,
Freelance Graphics, 1-2-3, Approach and Organizer. The first of the new
OS/2 applications is expected to be available next quarter.

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.

Please Note: Questions about the content or currency of this press release
should be directed to your local IBM representative.
 
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