Lawson Advances Lead in ASP Market Delivery; Counts 42 LawsonTone Application Service Provider Partnerships

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2000

Business Editors & Technology Writers

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2000

Lawson Software today announced the signing of 20 new LawsonTone(TM) application service provider (ASP) partners, significantly advancing the company's delivery of hosted e-business solutions and e-services.

The LawsonTone program - which now numbers 42 partners - integrates network, hosting and business process expertise with Lawson's enterprise e-business solutions delivered via the Web. LawsonTone partners add value to their `powered by Lawson' solutions through industry-specific expertise and best practices, and by integrating complementary third-party software to create a whole solution for a vertical market or segment. New LawsonTone partners and their market focuses, where applicable, include:

-- Aspeon Solutions, Inc. (Irvine, Calif.) - retail food service.

-- Chandelle Solutions Limited (Greer, S.C.) - aviation.

-- Computer Automated Management Systems, Inc. (Baltimore, Md.) - healthcare.

-- Covation (Brentwood, Tenn.) - healthcare.

-- Deloitte & Touche, LLP (Hermitage, Tenn.)

-- Dillon Gage, Inc. of Dallas (Addison, Tex.) - financial services.

-- In-Store Development Technologies, LLC (Hinsdale, IL) - retail in-store
development and buildout.

-- JewelerSite, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) - global gem and jewelry industry.

-- Medibuy.com (San Diego, Calif.) - healthcare supply chain.

-- Metanext (Paris, France) - professional services.

-- MicroTask, Inc. (Burlington, Mass.) - self-storage.

-- MIRUS Information Technology Services, Inc. (Houston, Tex.) - retail food
service.

-- RetailOps, LLC (Decatur, Ga.) - small and mid-sized specialty retail.

-- Telecomputing, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - mid-market enterprises.

-- Tiova, Inc. a Dallas Company (Dallas, Tex.) - professional services.

-- TriZetto Group, Inc. (Newport Beach, Calif.) - healthcare.

-- Verso Technologies, Inc. (Atlanta, Ga.) - retail, financial services,
communications service providers.

-- Webstack Corporation (Maple Plain, Minn.) - manufacturing distribution.

These new partners join LawsonTone partners such as Accelerated Payments, Inc.; Agilera; Eisner Technology Solutions; EYT; Interliant; netASPx; Superior Consultant Company, Inc.; and USinternetworking, the leading ASP worldwide.

"We are very excited about the work that has been put into the LawsonTone program," said Tom Elowson, vice president of Business Development, TeleComputing, Inc., the world's first Windows ASP. "Lawson has shown its vision for the ASP market substantially ahead of other vendors and we believe this is a big win for the software industry, and one that will set a standard for others to follow."

"The comprehensive functionality and ease-of-use of Lawson software, in conjunction with Interliant's world-class application hosting, business process outsourcing and software application integration capabilities, empowers us to build extremely powerful, cost-effective business solutions for clients," said Steve Munroe, vice president of Product Management, Interliant.

Lawson has earned recognition from leading industry analyst firms for its unique approach to the ASP market among enterprise e-business solution vendors.

"Lawson has signed several big-name ASPs like Agilera, EYT, Interliant and USinternetworking to host its applications for its traditional large-enterprise and mid-market customers," said Laurie McCabe, vice president and service director, Summit Strategies. "But Lawson has gone beyond the obvious to develop relationships with ASPs that can take it into new markets. Lawson's ASP partners customize and pre-integrate Lawson applications to add industry- or market-specific value. Lawson's open architecture, partnering expertise and shared-success business model really differentiate the company from its competitors."

Through partnerships with independent application service providers, the LawsonTone program provides for the delivery of Lawson enterprise e-business applications to end-users via the Internet or private networks. It is designed to provide maximum flexibility in working with partners in this new market space. The ASP provides for remote hosting of the applications and aggregates the entire infrastructure and application management services needed to deliver the application to the end-user.

"Lawson is clearly gaining a favored position among ASPs as the enterprise solution vendor with the best value proposition," said Eric Morgan, executive vice president, eMerging Markets, Lawson Software. "Lawson's e-business engines are built for easy use and customization and are tuned for the Internet. Our lawson.community(TM) strategy is opening new markets and helping our LawsonTone partners succeed in a rapidly evolving market. It's helping our customers extend their e-business solutions to their stakeholders. And by delivering a world-class e-business management system as an e-service, it's giving new customers in new markets the opportunity to realize new competitive advantages."