PEABODY, Mass., - November 20, 2001 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading provider of paper-to-digital solutions, today announced that a number of the nation's leading real estate companies have come to rely on ScanSoft's award-winning software - OmniPage®, OmniForm® and PaperPort® - for converting, managing and distributing paper-based documents as digital files. The use of ScanSoft® products has gained momentum in the real estate industry as sales agents from leading organizations including ERA Associates Realty, Northwood Realty Services, Prudential and RE/MAX, recognize the advantages of fillable electronic-forms, digital file management and record keeping, which save significant costs, while increasing business efficiency and employee productivity.

ScanSoft's leading software products allow users to capture paper documents and photographs and convert them into digital files that can be easily edited, organized and shared on PCs and over the Internet. These popular products are based on patented optical character recognition and image processing technologies that form a document imaging and management foundation for thousands of companies and millions of users.

“In the realm of electronic forms software, OmniForm is the best, bar none. It streamlines the process and saves countless hours lost to repetitive paperwork,” said Greg Ratliff, sales associate for RE/MAX in Pueblo, Colorado. Through the use of OmniForm electronic forms software, their offices have automated the completion of “new sale” contracts, foreclosure forms and several associated closing documents. Over 30 forms have been converted to digital format with automatic cost calculation capabilities. Now agents can fill out a form on the PC within two to three minutes, compared to the previous time-consuming handwritten method.

ERA Associates Realty in Sioux Falls, South Dakota uses ScanSoft's PaperPort to convert printed property photos and associated documents into digital format. Ranked among the top 200 nationwide, the real estate company has posted property portfolios containing over 600 photos on the Internet for buyers to browse. This provides real estate agents with the ability to store all information related to a property - contracts, reports, notes, photos - in one convenient file folder on the PC. “PaperPort works well for the real estate business,” said Pam Hoefert, ERA sales associate. “ScanSoft gives ERA Associates Realty the tools to create and manage an online real estate portfolio, as well as store and access all documents in one convenient location.”

Recently, Northwood Realty Services' new “On Line Forms” web service went live on the company intranet. The electronic forms completion and submission system serves over 600 real estate sales associates and administrators of this formerly Better Homes & Garden Realty affiliate. Without OmniForm, the new system that promises to save innumerable hours would not have been possible. “Northwood agents are excited about being able to access and fill out the forms from their desktops at home and the office, as well as from remote locations. The cost advantage of always having the latest versions of the forms literally right at your fingertips is immeasurable,” said Gilberta Kite, from Northwood Realty Services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “With ScanSoft's technology, Northwood was able to take a big step in the right direction to streamline our business and generate a more productive and successful environment.”

“The real estate community is important to ScanSoft and plays a key role in the global adoption of ScanSoft solutions,” said Wayne Crandall senior vice president of Sales and Marketing at ScanSoft. “Nation-wide, real estate agents have discovered that ScanSoft's technology provides an edge on the competition, by allowing them to be more efficient in the work place. This means they are able to spend more time with their customers, ultimately generating sales and increasing the bottom line.”

About ScanSoft, Inc.

Headquartered in Peabody, Mass., with European headquarters in The Netherlands, ScanSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSFT) is a global leader in paper-to-digital solutions for desktop, network, Internet and mobile environments that enable users to leverage the power of their scanners, digital cameras and other electronic devices. ScanSoft's award-winning product line - OmniPage Pro, TextBridge Pro, PaperPort Deluxe, Pagis Pro, OmniForm, eOmniForm, and numerous software developer's kits - 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 products and technologies include Brother, Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM/Lotus, Mustek, Primax, Sharp, Symantec Corporation, Visioneer, Xerox and others. ScanSoft's leading technologies have been licensed by Microsoft for use in Office XP and other 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, marketed and supported worldwide through retail, dealer and OEM channels and the Internet, capturing the small to medium size business and corporate markets. There are more than eight million registered users of ScanSoft products. ScanSoft can be found on the Web at www.scansoft.com.

Trademark reference: ScanSoft, PaperPort, PaperPort Deluxe, OmniPage, OmniPage Pro, TextBridge, Pagis, OmniForm, eOmniForm, and Developer's Kit 2000 are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and trade names mentioned are hereby recognized and may be registered to their respective holders.

The Company notes that the statements in this release that relate to future plans, events, performance, including without limitation the perceived benefits of the agreement, are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market acceptance, engineering delays, contractual negotiations, a significant change in the competitive environment, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. Readers are cautioned not to place undo reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

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