“There are many web sites and portals that address the broad and generic needs of business.  In contrast, NetObjects’ goal is to offer online services that address the specific and personal needs of helping small business get online and do e-commerce online,” said Samir Arora, CEO and president of NetObjects.  “The strategy is to allow each small business to start simple by building their web site in a browser environment and grow to a more complex site and e-commerce solution using desktop software.”  

Focused on providing online applications to small businesses that they can leverage for selling products, services, and marketing to their customers, the acquisition of Sitematic (see related release) will be the initial step in a focused online effort for the company.  NetObjects and Sitematic are already working on new applications and services that will redefine the space. 

The Small Business Online Division will be headed by executive vice president and general manager, Mark Patton, reporting to Samir Arora, CEO.  The existing NetObjects Desktop Division will become part of the new Small Business Online Division, which was run by former executive vice president, Dave Kleinberg, who has transitioned to a part-time consulting role.  Merging the executive team from Sitematic into NetObjects, Peter Shaw has been appointed executive vice president of corporate development, reporting to Samir Arora.  Steven Mitgang has been appointed executive vice president of small business and corporate marketing, reporting to Mark Patton. “We are all excited about the new direction and look forward to working with this enhanced and experienced team,” concluded Arora.

NetObjects will be demonstrating its current small business and enterprise solutions at Fall Internet World, booth #2467, in New York, October 6-8. 

About NetObjects
NetObjects, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETO), majority owned by IBM (NYSE:IBM), is a leading provider of e-Business software and services that enable small businesses as well as large-scale enterprises to build, deploy and maintain Web sites on the Internet and corporate Intranets. The NetObjects product family includes NetObjects Fusion® and NetObjects Authoring Server Suite. In addition, NetObjects offers its customers on- line solutions, including content, products and services to help them register, host, build, maintain and promote their Web sites.

NetObjects has been ranked by Softletter 100, NewMedia 500 and as one of Fortune's 25 Very Cool Companies. Its products have won over 50 awards including Windows Magazine’s Win 100 award, InfoWorld's Analyst Choice award, CNET's Internet Excellence award, PC Magazine's Editors Choice award and InternetWorld's Industry Award. More information about NetObjects and its products can be found at www.netobjects.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Such statements can be identified by the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", and similar expressions.  These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about the market opportunities for web site building software and services, our strategy, and competition. These forward looking statements do not constitute assurances regarding our future operating results, including the impact of our acquisition of Sitematic Corporation upon our operations, cash flows, and financial condition.  Our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to various factors, including the risk factors described in our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available or relevant events occur in the future.