ScanSoft Names New Senior Vice President of Research and Development

Ben Wittner to Lead Research and Development for ScanSoft Worldwide

PEABODY, Mass., - August 30, 2000 - ScanSoft®, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSFT), a leading provider of digital imaging software, today announced the promotion of Ben S. Wittner to the position of senior vice president of research and development. In his new position, Dr. Wittner will have worldwide responsibility for ScanSoft's digital imaging product development, including engineering and documentation. Wittner replaces Stan Swiniarski, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities.

Commenting on the appointment, ScanSoft Chief Executive Officer Paul Ricci said, "Ben has successfully led the development of our core imaging technologies and played a key role in the development of many of our new products. His experience coupled with his leadership qualities will be invaluable to ScanSoft as we continue to aggressively grow the business by expanding and integrating new products and technology."

Wittner, who earlier this year was promoted to vice president, has been responsible for all technology development at ScanSoft since 1995. He brings more than 12 years of experience in a variety of technical disciplines to his new role. As director of technology development at ScanSoft, he built a world class team, drove the development of the company's award-winning OCR technology, and developed alliances with key partners, including Microsoft.

Wittner began working with OCR recognition in 1992 for Xerox Imaging Systems. When ScanSoft was realigned as a subsidiary of Xerox, and later spun out as a separate public company, Wittner became an integral part of the development team that led ScanSoft to market leadership. Previously, Dr. Wittner was an individual contributor and then supervisor for the handwriting recognition project at NYNEX. Before that, he held a post-doctoral position at AT&T Bell Laboratories, researching fundamentals and applications of neural networks. Dr. Wittner earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

Headquartered in Peabody, MA, ScanSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSFT) is the leading developer of digital imaging software that enables users to leverage the power of their scanners, digital cameras and other electronic devices. ScanSoft's award-winning product line - Pagis, TextBridge, PaperPort, OmniPage Pro, OmniForm, eOmniForm, OmniPage Pro Scan Suite Plus, Developer's Kit 2000, ImageAXS, PageKeeper, Paper Converter, Kai's PhotoSoap2, Kai's SuperGoo, Kai's PowerShow, and PhotoFactory - enables users to capture, recognize, edit, manage and share documents and photos electronically by taking advantage of ScanSoft's cutting-edge technology.

ScanSoft has established numerous strategic partnerships with the industry's leading scanner and multifunction vendors to deliver the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions for its customers. Vendors who have chosen ScanSoft's cutting-edge OCR technologies to incorporate into their own product offerings include Brother, Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Lotus Development Corporation, Microtek, Mustek, Primax, Sharp, Symantec Corporation, Visioneer, Xerox and others. ScanSoft's leading OCR technology was recently licensed by Microsoft for use in future products. ScanSoft continues to cultivate and develop strategic partnerships to deliver the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions for its customers.

ScanSoft software is sold and marketed worldwide through retail, dealer and OEM channels and the Internet, capturing the consumer, small office/home office (SOHO) and corporate markets. There are more than 6 million registered users of ScanSoft products. ScanSoft can be found on the Web at www.scansoft.com.

PageKeeper, Paper Converter, Pagis, TextBridge, PaperPort, OmniPage, OmniPage Pro Scan Suite Plus, OmniForm, eOmniForm, Developer's Kit 2000, PhotoFactory, Kai's PhotoSoap2, Kai's SuperGoo, and Kai's PowerShow are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. ImageAXS is a trademark of Digital Arts & Sciences Corporation. All other trademarks and trade names are hereby recognized and may be registered to their respective holders.