IBM and Lawson Team to Deliver Open and Integrated Business Solutions

    Business Editors

    SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2005--IBM and Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) today announced that Lawson will optimize and standardize its comprehensive business applications portfolio on IBM's open standards-based software and hardware, and the companies will jointly market pre-integrated solutions to customers. As part of the expanded strategic alliance, the two companies will also develop and market new vertical offerings to help customers address their business challenges across industries including healthcare, retail, government, education, financial services and other service sector markets.
    Lawson also has selected IBM WebSphere(*) as the foundation for its new business applications platform, codenamed "Project Landmark," to help its clients move to a J2EE compliant service-oriented architecture (SOA), and to provide them with an open standards-based framework for automating business processes with their customers, partners and suppliers. Landmark is being designed to help clients mitigate application complexity by reducing the source coding required, with the goal of providing virtually error-free, consistent Java code. Landmark-developed applications and Web services will share the same data repository as clients' existing Lawson applications enabling clients to perform only an upgrade, not a migration or new implementation, to take advantage of them.
    "Lawson's expanded alliance with IBM will only make it easier for us to work with the leading business applications provider for healthcare and the leading open standards-based software and hardware provider," said J.P. Kichak, VP & CIO of University of North Carolina Health Care. "Their combined offer will help reduce IT complexity for us while giving us the flexibility we need to rapidly respond to changing needs."
    IDC expects the ERP applications market to reach $36 billion by the end of 2008. Today's announcement represents a significant commitment to providing mid-market clients with open, standards-based business solutions that will help enable them to leverage their existing IT assets, lower costs, and provide them flexibility regarding their choice of operating environments. The expanded relationship with Lawson will enable new and existing customers to achieve increased levels of operational efficiency and insight into their business process through an open standards based infrastructure.
    "Midmarket companies are seeking open and integrated solutions that won't lock them into a proprietary environment and help accelerate return on investment," said Steve Mills, Senior Vice President and Group Executive, IBM Software Group. "The joint IBM and Lawson solutions are easy to implement and will enable customers to solve their industry and business challenges on demand."

    Joint Development and Marketing

    During the first half of 2006, Lawson intends to ship releases of its business application suites - including Lawson Financials, Supply Chain Management, Human Resources, Enterprise Performance Management and Procurement - with embedded core components of IBM WebSphere, DB2(*), Rational(*) and Tivoli(*). Standardizing Lawson's applications on IBM's open middleware will help enable clients to quickly and easily implement business solutions at a lower cost of ownership.
    IBM and Lawson will also continue to optimize solution performance on IBM eServer(*) and IBM TotalStorage(*) technologies including: xSeries(*), pSeries(*), iSeries(*), zSeries(*), TotalStorage, and Linux on OpenPower(*). The result for customers will be enterprise-class security, performance and reliability at an affordable price
    Both companies will jointly market the integrated offerings to customers. As a Lawson services partner, IBM will provide support and vertical industry expertise through IBM Global Services and Business Consulting Services (BCS). IBM and Lawson will also dedicate more consultants in Lawson's IBM Competency Center to support testing and development.
    "This strategic alliance extends Lawson's reputation for industry-specific, outcome-driven business solutions and further positions Lawson to lead in the mid-market," said Lawson Chief Product Officer Dean Hager. "The combination of IBM's industry-leading technology solutions and Lawson's applications and vertical market expertise will deliver clients the best value in systems for running their business."

    New Industry 'Solution Packs'

    IBM and Lawson will jointly develop and market new vertical industry 'solution packs' to organizations in the healthcare, retail, government, education, financial services and other service sector markets. These industry solution packs will provide clients with pre-integrated offerings that are being designed to be easy to install and maintain, and address industry-specific pain points.

    About Lawson Software

    Lawson Software provides business application software and consulting services that put time on the side of services organizations in the healthcare, retail, government and education, banking and insurance and other markets. Lawson's software suites include enterprise performance management, distribution, financials, human resources, procurement, retail operations and service process optimization. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., Lawson has offices and affiliates serving North and South America, Europe, and Africa.

    About IBM

    IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com

    (*) Denotes a trademark or registered trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements that contain risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements contain statements of intent, belief or current expectations of Lawson Software, Inc., and its management. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company's ability to enhance operating effectiveness and profitability requires that the company obtain cost savings from expense control measures that have not yet been fully determined. The company is not obligated to update forward-looking statements based on circumstances or events that occur in the future. In addition to factors discussed above, risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences include but are not limited to: uncertainties in the software industry; global military conflicts; terrorist attacks in the United States, and any future events in response to these developments; changes in conditions in the company's targeted service industries; increased competition and other risk factors listed in the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and as included in other documents the company files from time to time with the Commission.
    Statements concerning Lawson contained herein are part of Lawson's "roadmap," which is the company's current vision of planned functionality, products and technology. Because Lawson's product roadmap can and will change, Lawson does not commit to the development or future general availability of any specific new functionality, products or technology.

--30--NM/ny*

CONTACT: For Lawson: Weber Shandwick Kira Jorvig, 952-346-6317 kjorvig@webershandwick.com or IBM Angela Sullivan, 646-598-6173 a1lee@us.ibm.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE PRODUCT MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: IBM

Copyright Business Wire 2005