New Release Extends Accuracy and Performance Leadership, Expands Support for PDF with PDF/A and Highly Compressed PDF-MRC, Embraces Microsoft .NET and More

BURLINGTON, Mass., August 22, 2006 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN), a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions, today announced the availability of the ScanSoft® OmniPage® Capture SDK 15. The developer toolkit is the world’s leading solution for rapidly adding scanning, optical character recognition (OCR) and PDF capabilities to both commercial and in-house applications, delivering an unrivaled combination of accuracy and robust features to a wide range of imaging applications. The toolkit supports OCR in over 120 languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean, and includes image processing, barcode, handprint and forms processing technologies.

OmniPage Capture SDK 15 delivers accuracy levels that can reach over 99 percent for OCR, an increase of up to 36 percent over the previous version and a performance that is up to 50 percent better than alternatives. Customers also benefit from the built-in support for dual-core, hyper-threading and multi-CPU systems, which deliver speed improvements of up to 32 percent. Application development has been greatly simplified through the delivery of high-level function calls and support for C, C++, COM, VB.NET and C# programming environments, as well as pre-made end user interfaces that now include the OmniPage Workflow Assistant. The new release also includes features not available from any other imaging SDK, including Logical Forms Recognition™ and Form Template Editor, which simplify developing forms processing applications; RealSpeak™ Text-to-Speech for converting documents into audio files; and robust support for PDF, including new PDF/A and highly compressed PDF-MRC formats.

The OmniPage Capture SDK is used as the scanning and document conversion technology by nearly all of the leading commercial vendors implementing scanning, OCR or PDF capabilities into their applications, including Accusoft, Adlib eDoc Solutions, AnyDoc Systems, Autodesk, Bowe Bell & Howell, Captaris, Cardiff Software, Canon, Electronic for Imaging, EMC Captiva, Freedom Scientific, Hyland Software, Kofax, Omtool, Microsoft, Westbrook Technologies and Xerox. It is also the technology used within the world’s largest Web book scanning and search projects, and the only OCR indexing technology integrated with desktop search products, including Google Desktop Search. Corporate and integrator organizations worldwide have also discovered that they use the toolkit to lower costs through automated document scanning and archive. Corporate customers include Avis, Bank of America, Citibank, CNA Canada, E & J Winery, Household Finance Corporation, Lexus Nexis, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and WalMart.

Used in a wide range of applications, the OmniPage Capture SDK is consistently selected for its accuracy, performance and robust development capabilities:

• Data Capture Solutions – Data Capture Solutions Ltd. provides enterprise information management software solutions and associated services to more than 400 of the largest businesses in the world. DCS is using Nuance’s award-winning OCR functionality in the OmniPage Capture SDK for document capture for its FileStore document management solution.
  
  
• Esker - Esker is a recognized leader in helping organizations streamline manual, paper-intensive processes and reduce the use of paper by automating the flow of documents into, within and outside the organization. Esker uses the OmniPage Capture SDK to extract data from inbound fax communications for routing and indexing purposes within its document delivery automation software
  
  
• Formic – Formic is one of the top 5 European information capture software vendors and its solutions reduce costs by automating an organization’s core business processes and feeding enterprise applications with information from multiple communication channels. Leveraging the OmniPage Capture SDK from Nuance, Formic’s systems capture, validate and deliver data from paper documents or web enabled e-forms via mobile devices, internet PC’s, remote faxes, scanners and multi-function devices
  
  
• Formscape – More than 8,000 customers globally rely on FormScape solutions – Covus and FormScape V3 – to substantially cut costs, improve information visibility, and ensure better control of business documents. Formscape leverages the OCR within the OmniPage Capture SDK for its electronic forms management, imaging, storage and output for SAP, JDE, Oracle, PeopleSoft, MBS and others.
  
  
• Fuji Xerox – Fuji Xerox markets the broadest range of printers, digital production publishers, multifunction devices, copiers, facsimile products and scanners in the industry. Fuji Xerox leverages the OmniPage Capture SDK in its CentreWare Flow Services, a powerful software solution that automatically processes an organization’s document flow, streamlines the flow of work, and empowers people to greater productivity and results.
  
  
• Software Express – Software Express specializes in assistive software and computers for people who are blind or partially sighted. Using the OCR and text-to-speech technology in the OmniPage Capture SDK, Software Express’ screen reading application pulls information from printed materials and then reads that information aloud via the computer to the vision-impaired user.

“The new agreements that we have signed as well as our existing customer and partner base underscore that document capture and conversion have become mainstream functions within organizations of all sizes, expanding beyond their traditional back-office roles,” said Robert Weideman, senior vice president, Productivity Applications Division, Nuance. “With this release we make it easier than ever for developers to deliver desktop and server solutions that allow their customers to turn paper into documents they can archive, edit and use.”

About the OmniPage Capture SDK

OmniPage Capture SDK technology is used by nearly 100 percent of the commercial vendors that implement imaging and OCR capabilities, including Autodesk Raster Design, Canon imageWARE, EMC Captiva, CardScan, FileNET Capture, Kofax Ascent Capture, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office and SharePoint, Xerox DocuShare and more. It is also the technology used within the world’s largest Web book scanning and search projects, and the only OCR indexing technology integrated with desktop search products, including Google Desktop Search. And OmniPage OCR from Nuance is used by millions everyday within the world’s most accurate and popular desktop scanning, OCR and document conversion applications – ScanSoft® PaperPort®, OmniPage® and PDF Converter Professional.

Pricing and Availability

The ScanSoft OmniPage Capture SDK 15 from Nuance is available now with pricing starting at $4,495 for a developer license. For more information on the product and to request runtime pricing please visit Nuance.com/omnipage/capturesdk/ or call Nuance at (1) 800-443-7077.

ScanSoft Imaging Solutions

Through unrivaled features, accuracy and performance, ScanSoft Imaging Solutions from Nuance eliminate barriers to productivity by enabling people and organizations to automate a range of document processes – increasing productivity, saving time and reducing costs. With products for enterprises, small-to-medium-sized businesses and home offices, ScanSoft Imaging Solutions are used to put the power of PDF on every business desktop; convert paper and PDF into documents that can be easily edited; and simplify scanning and document management using multifunction scanners and networked digital copiers. To experience new levels of productivity, please visit Nuance.com/ScanSoft.

Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance (Nasdaq: NUAN) is the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Nuance, the Nuance logo, Logical Forms Recognition, OmniPage, PaperPort, RealSpeak, and ScanSoft are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with market trends, competitive factors, and other risks identified in Nuance’s SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.