Lawson Teams with DATABASICS to Expand Professional Services Vertical Market Initiative

Business Wire, Feb 29, 2000

Business Editors

ST.PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 29, 2000

Adds Time, Travel, Entertainment Expense for

Integrated e-Business Solution

Lawson Software, the only provider of Self-Evident Applications(TM) (SEA) for e-business, today announced a partnership with DATABASICS Inc. of McLean, Va., that will allow the two providers of professional services automation solutions to deliver a fully-integrated whole-product solution for professional services organizations.

This further expansion into the front office confirms Lawson's commitment to providing professional services organizations (PSOs) with an end-to-end solution addressing the need to manage today's mobile workforce while providing functionality typically found only in custom software.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lawson Software will resell DATABASICS' time management software, TimeSite(TM), and its travel and entertainment expense software, ExpenSite(TM). TimeSite is a Web-based comprehensive time management solution that captures and reports operational data for improved tracking and control of project costs. ExpenSite logs and reports travel and entertainment expense information over the Web with a flexibility and scalability that offers dramatic savings in the cost of expense reporting and processing.

The pre-built integration between Lawson and DATABASICS results in a significant competitive advantage for PSOs, a group which includes services firms as well as those business units that provide internal IT consulting and other associated services. These advantages include improvements in logic and data flow that will provide Lawson clients with an enhanced ability to:

--       Capture project costs.
--       Measure and manage project performance.
--       Track labor utilization.
--       Increase the efficiency of billing (or bill-back) processes.
--       Reimburse employees for travel.
--       Enforce business rules relating to travel.
--       Invoice for travel "pass-throughs."
--       Identify opportunities for travel savings.

Delivered with Web interfaces for entry and approval, system and user-level security and a journal for notes and status reporting on projects, Lawson's product suite for PSOs includes Activity Management, Billing, Revenue Recognition, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Human Resources, Procurement, Accounts Payable and Analytics modules.

"With this fully integrated professional services solution, Lawson and DATABASICS can meet large-scale implementation requirements for deployment, performance and maintenance," said Jim DeSocio, Vice President and General Manager of the Professional Services Business Unit at Lawson Software. "We're bringing a best of breed solution that has never been offered with this breadth of capabilities to this industry segment."

The alliance with DATABASICS will allow the Lawson Professional Services Business Unit to continue its dedication to providing PSOs with the first fully integrated, Web-deployable Professional Services Automation (PSA) solution. Lawson offers Financials, Human Resources, Analytic and Procurement Suites designed to save time and effort, and reduce paperwork while ensuring that users reap improved performance and profitability.

"Lawson Software's Activity Management is the most comprehensive and scalable project accounting and billing solution for the PSA market," said Alan Tyson, president of DATABASICS. "Combined with our best-of-breed software for time and expense, Lawson and DATABASICS are offering the first `core' PSA suite that truly measures up to the demands of PSA customers. There's been a lot of smoke in the marketplace - we think it's ready for some fire. We're very excited about our alliance."

Founded in 1983, McLean, Va.-based DATABASICS, Inc. is setting the standard for enterprise employee time and expense management software. First in category to the Web, DATABASICS' products, TimeSite and ExpenSite, are being used today by industry leaders in IT, financial services, healthcare and engineering. The company theme, "Get It Done," is a pledge to deliver the highest value to its customers and do whatever it takes to help them realize their goals. More information is available at (703) 749-2892 or on the Web at www.DATA-BASICS.com.

Lawson Software, a $270 million provider of Self-Evident Applications(TM) (SEA) for e-business, offers role-based Web solutions for financials, human resources, procurement, supply chain and performance management. With 2,800 mid- to large-sized corporate customers, Lawson has distinguished itself competitively through a unique blend of feature-rich customer solutions, technology innovation and user-friendly support. Lawson Software has been acclaimed by technology analysts for its innovative and unique use of leading-edge technologies, like Self-Evident Applications(TM) (SEA) on the Web, and Drill Around(TM) for integrated, cross-application data access.

Red Herring magazine names Lawson "the strongest private ERP company" and listed Lawson among the world's top 50 private companies. Offering enterprise software solutions for UNIX, NT and AS/400 platforms, Lawson has 28 offices and affiliates serving 36 countries worldwide and a 96 percent client retention over five years. The company is headquartered in St. Paul and London. Additional information about Lawson Software is available on the company's Web site, http://www.lawson.com, or by calling (800) 477-1357, ext. 100.