In Pictures: Lotus pioneers. Where are they now?

Ray Ozzie

Ray Ozzie founded Iris Associates in December of 1984 to create the program Notes, along with Tim Halvorsen and Len Kawell, followed three months later by Steve Beckhardt. Iris and Lotus had an agreement from 1984 until Lotus acquired Iris in 1994. Iris was responsible for product development, and Lotus was responsible for marketing, sales, distribution, support, etc. According to Ozzie, the Lotus brand was, initially, all about desktop computing; it was about tools for personal empowerment and personal computing. With the advent of Notes, the Lotus brand grew to be inclusive of tools for interpersonal empowerment and collaborative work — things that today are regarded as “tools for social productivity."