It seems that Microsoft purchased it mainly to compete with Lotus Jazz. The first release was in 1986 for the Apple Macintosh. Microsoft Works started development as 'Mouseworks' from 'Productivity Software', and involved developers of the original Apple II AppleWorks. Microsoft Works competed against Lotus Jazz, FrameWork, AlphaWorks/LotusWorks, PFS First Choice, and many others. It was released in variants for early DOS, Windows, and Macintosh. Microsoft Works was an all-in-one scaled-down Word Processor, Spreadsheet, and Database geared towards the home user.
