IBM Defines a New Era of Dynamic Work With Enhanced Lotus Software Portfolio

Collaboration Leader Delivers New e-mail, e-learning, e-meeting, IM and Team Collaboration Offerings; Addresses Emerging Market Opportunities

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 1, 2002 -- IBM today announced the availability of an array of Lotus software products that support new ways of working based on rapid advances in information technology and connectivity. The new products represent major steps forward in supporting dynamic work -- collaboration, learning and knowledge sharing across organizational, geographical and technical boundaries.

With the new offerings, IBM is addressing the growing need that today's workers have for filtering information, pooling skills and expertise, and collaborating securely. Either as stand-alone offerings or integrated with other offerings, the capabilities of the new Lotus software can help increase the extent to which long-standing or newly acquired knowledge is applied to mission-critical activities and problem-solving. The new products exploit recent technology advances designed to boost the productivity of individuals and organizations, which can help them achieve desired business results through faster learning, better access to people and reduced technical expense.

"Today's working environment is a dynamic workplace, that enables employees to collaborate in realtime, no matter what application they are working in," said Al Zollar, General Manager of IBM Lotus Software. "The enhanced collaboration capabilities will benefit both organizations and their employees as they will be empowered to achieve more with less, helping to the ultimate return on investment."

And customers continue to validate Lotus software as the leader in providing collaborative solutions, with 96 of Fortune 100 companies, nine of the largest U.S. Chemical companies, 14 of the largest worldwide automobile manufacturers, nine of the largest healthcare/pharmaceutical companies, and seven of the largest U.S. aerospace & defense companies have currently standardized on Lotus software.

By delivering Lotus Notes and Domino 6, Sametime 3 and QuickPlace 3 and LearningSpace - Virtual Classroom to its portfolio, Lotus software is outpacing its competition in providing end-to-end solutions that create the foundation for dynamic workplaces. The increased security features of the mail solution in Lotus Notes 6 can help make it easier to fight costly distractions such as spam. Lotus Sametime 3 support of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway will help allow users to communicate across supported IM communities, allowing them to benefit from the security features of the industry-leading enterprise IM solution. Lotus QuickPlace 3 features enhanced collaboration functionality such as Sametime's presence awareness. And Lotus LearningSpace - Virtual Classroom enables the use of real-time communication between instructors and learners, thus helping to significantly improve the e-learning experience.

The scalability, reliability, security features of the entire Lotus software portfolio are further solidified through the capabilities these solutions now offer:

-- Lotus Notes and Domino 6 include new anti-spam features, increased security features, improved administration tools, more than 1,000 client improvements to help end-users enhance their productivity. The combination of new features and integration across IBM's software portfolio can provide a distinct advantage over competing vendors, and will help IBM to build on its installed base of 95+ million users and continue as a leader in the messaging and collaboration market going forward.

-- Lotus Sametime 3 is the first enterprise instant messaging and e-meeting solution to offer the ability for community-to-community connections with security features, and Lotus QuickPlace 3 offers close integration with Lotus Sametime, enabling users to see which of their colleagues are online and initiate an e-meeting or a Sametime chat right from a QuickPlace. By building on the already-robust features of Lotus Sametime and QuickPlace, they help to provide an even more reliable and stable platform for collaboration.

-- Lotus LearningSpace - Virtual Classroom, is an easy-to-deploy and cost-effective e-learning system that helps enable real-time collaboration between instructors and learners, and helps organizations rapidly implement an e-learning solution. It's an ideal solution for organizations that need to frequently and efficiently train geographically dispersed employees, business partners and suppliers on critical matters such as industry regulations, product development changes and business transformations.

Notes and Domino 6, Sametime 3, QuickPlace 3 and LearningSpace -- Live Virtual Classroom are now available. The new offerings have been through beta testing, and customers such as DaimlerChrysler, JP Morgan, KEMET and Countrywide Insurance are early deployers of the solutions.

About Lotus Software from IBM

Lotus software from IBM sets the standard for truly innovative software and services that reflect the brand's unique representation of the new ways individuals and businesses work together to achieve success. Lotus software is further redefining the concept of conducting business through practical Knowledge Management, e-business and other ground-breaking ways of connecting ideas, thinkers, buyers, sellers and communities around the world via the Internet. Lotus software is marketed in more than 80 countries worldwide through direct sales and extensive Business Partner channels. Please visit www.lotus.com.

Lotus, Lotus Notes, Domino, Sametime, QuickPlace and LearningSpace are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation and/or IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. IBM and WebSphere are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corp. All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies. Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

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