Kubi Software Debuts with World-Class Management Team and New Funding; Led by Technology Innovator Julio Estrada, Company Targets the Collaboration and Email Application Markets; Management Team Brings Track Record for Establishing Leadership in Enterprise Software Market.

LINCOLN, Mass. -- LINCOLN, Mass., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Kubi Software Inc. today announced its world-class management team and funding from blue-chip investors. Additionally, Kubi Software announced plans to unveil its products next month at one of the industry's most prestigious events -- DEMO 2003.

Kubi Software's Founder and CEO Julio Estrada brings substantial experience in developing commercially successful enterprise software, including category-defining collaborative solutions used today by tens of millions of users. Prior to founding Kubi Software in July 2001, Estrada spent a decade at Lotus Development Corporation, where he was the chief architect and development manager for QuickPlace, Lotus' Web collaboration product. Earlier, he served as the lead architect of Lotus Domino Web Server, which extended the Lotus Notes collaboration platform by bringing it to the Web.

Building on this expertise, Estrada recognized a significant opportunity for organizations to leverage their investments in messaging infrastructures to solve the critical need for collaboration solutions. Estrada's vision is to combine the power of collaborative functionality with the familiarity and ease of use of Email.

"Despite a fifteen-year evolution of collaborative software, the vast majority of individuals and teams are still unable to spontaneously collaborate with one another in a fast, organized and secure manner," said Julio Estrada. "Email remains the preferred solution for communication, but it has significant room for growth in terms of enabling robust collaboration among individuals. This creates a large market opportunity, and we intend to capture it."

Research analyst firm IDC estimates that the collaborative applications market reached $4.5 billion in worldwide revenue by the end of 2002. IDC also projected that there were 426 million business users of Email worldwide in 2002, and expects that number to grow to 568 million in 2005.

Moving from over a year and a half of research and development to commercial deployment of its products, Kubi Software has been selected to unveil its innovative products at DEMO 2003, February 16-18 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

World-Class Management Team Prepares to Address Enterprise Market

Estrada's vision of a revolutionary application at the intersection of today's collaboration and Email products has attracted an impressive management team.

Joining Kubi Software as president is John Shagoury, most recently the president of Lernout & Hauspie's (L&H) Speech and Language Technologies Division, a position he assumed when the former Dragon Systems was acquired by L&H. Dragon Systems was the leader in speech-to-text software solutions. Shagoury's software application experience also includes having served as president of Corporate Software & Technology, a software distributor that licensed network and desktop software to Fortune 1000 enterprises.

"I welcome the opportunity to join Julio and this talented team," said John Shagoury. "Kubi Software presents a unique chance to create a new class of application software that optimizes the best of collaboration and Email, while providing significant value to the marketplace. The timing is right for us to enter the market and we feel we will have a substantial immediate impact."

Kubi Software's Vice President of Marketing Nina McIntyre joins from Centive, formerly Incentive Systems, where she was executive vice president, worldwide marketing and strategic alliances for the premier provider of Enterprise Incentive Management software solutions. Prior to Centive, McIntyre was chief operating officer for Invention Machine, a provider of knowledge-enabling software for the Internet. Previously she held a variety of executive-level positions with Lotus Development Corporation, where she served as general manager for groups that included calendaring and scheduling, and graphics products.

Kubi Software's Vice President of Sales Jeffrey Dickerson rounds out the management team. Dickerson was most recently vice president of sales and marketing for Mazu Networks, a top provider of solutions for enterprise network security. Earlier in his career, he held senior-level sales and business development positions with such companies as MCK Communications, Parametric Technologies (PTC) and VMARK Software.

Kubi Software has secured more than $8 million in funding to date, with Lazard Technology Partners as the lead investor in the new series, following a startup round led by Venture Investment Management Company LLC (VIMAC). "Managers in information-intensive businesses collaborate with clients, suppliers and business partners every day. And with explosive growth in business Email use, the potential market for Kubi Software is substantial," said Woody Benson, principal, Lazard Technology Partners. "We believe that the company is well positioned and has assembled the right team to maximize the opportunity. We look forward to being a part of this team as the products establish market presence and begin to be used widely by organizations."

In addition to Estrada and Benson, the company's Board of Directors includes several software luminaries. Deborah Besemer is president and CEO of BrassRing LLC, the leader in eRecruiting and talent management innovation. She also serves as the Chairwoman of the Mass. Software and Internet Council. John Landry, CEO, Adesso Systems, Inc., has more than 25 years' experience in the software industry including serving as CTO for Lotus Development Corporation, VP of Technology Strategy for IBM, and in senior management roles at Dun & Bradstreet, Cullinet and McCormack & Dodge. Mark Robinson is a director with VIMAC, where he leads investment activities in the Internet and IT/communications sectors.

CONTACT: Michael Blaber of Kubi Software Inc., [phone], ext. 116, [e-mail]; or Kevin Kosh of CHEN PR, Inc., +1-781-466- 8282, ext. 11, [e-mail]

Web site: http://www.kubisoftware.com/