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History of Lotus
Company Background
Lotus Development Corporation was founded in April 1982. The company was engaged primarily in the development, production and marketing of applications software and information services.
In January 1983, Lotus introduced its initial product, 1-2-3, which became the industry's best selling business software. The company shipped Symphony, its second product, in June 1984. By the end of 1986, Lotus had sold more than two million units of 1-2-3 and Symphony. At that time, both 1-2-3 and Symphony were standard tools for business analysis. In 1986 Lotus posted $283 million in revenues.
With 1-2-3 and Symphony as a platform, Lotus developed and marketed a series of tightly-related software products and information services. These products and services gave personal computer users better ways to gather, analyze, and include information in documents, presentations and electronic forms of communication.
Between mid-1985 and early 1987, Lotus acquired four companies: Dataspeed, Inc., GNP Development Corp., ISYS Corp., and Graphic Communications, Inc.; and substantially all the assets of three additional companies: Software Arts., Inc., InfoCenter Software, Inc., and Future Software, Inc.).
By April 1987, when Lotus celebrated it's fifth anniversary as a company, it had shipped more than two-and-one-half million units of personal computer software. Its products were marketed in 65 countries in nine different languages. With more than 1,400 employees, Lotus maintained a direct presence in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Japan and manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, Ireland and Puerto Rico. Further expansion in Europe, Japan, Australia and Latin America was planned for 1987.
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