Span2 to Offer `Powered by Lawson' E-service to Property and Casualty Insurance Sector

Business Wire, June 5, 2001

Business Editors & Technology Writers

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2001

Lawson Software today announced that The NetCommerce Company dba SPAN2, an information management and transaction processing service company serving the property and casualty insurance industry, is developing a `Powered by Lawson(TM)' financial management e-service as a LawsonTone(TM) Business Service Provider (BSP) partner. SPAN2 also licensed lawson.insight(TM) Financials to manage internal financial processes. SPAN2 provides insurance carriers and agents/brokers with a suite of hosted applications that streamline transaction processing, as well as Web site management and client relationship management (CRM) tools.

The Atlanta-based SPAN2 will leverage Lawson e-business engines and extensions to build and deliver its hosted financial service as a component of the SPAN2 end-to-end solution. Lawson Software offers application and business service providers pre-configured solutions and robust tools specifically engineered for a hosted environment. It allows LawsonTone service provider partners to quickly develop and deliver `Powered by Lawson' e-services to selected target markets.

"Lawson has a very appealing value proposition for the service provider industry," said Steve Ostenson, vice president, Agent/Broker Markets, SPAN2. "As a customer using lawson.insight Financials, we are leveraging a best-in-class solution to gain new efficiencies and streamline operations. As a LawsonTone partner, we are leveraging Lawson's Web-addressability, open architecture and robust customization extensions to quickly build and deliver a leading-edge financial e-service to the insurance industry. Our mutual focus on insurance is one of several synergies with Lawson that contributed to our development decision."

Through partnerships with independent application and business service providers, the LawsonTone program provides for the delivery of Lawson e-business applications and `Powered by Lawson' e-services to end-users via the Internet or private networks. It is designed to provide maximum flexibility in working with partners in this dynamic market space. LawsonTone ASP partners provide for remote hosting of Lawson applications and aggregate all infrastructure and application management services needed to deliver applications to the end-user. LawsonTone BSP partners develop value-added `Powered by Lawson' solutions delivered to end-users as subscription services that eliminate large initial capital expenditures and provide for predictable costing of information technology solutions.

"Lawson already has a significant presence as a solution provider to the insurance industry," said Vicki Griffith, director of Netsourcing, Lawson Software. "By offering the industry a `Powered by Lawson' service, SPAN2 is helping us reach new end-users that might not otherwise be readily able to acquire a world-class enterprise-level solution."

Lawson Software is a leading provider of integrated e-business solutions. Lawson offers role-based Self-Evident Applications(R)(SEAs), transaction engines and e-business extensions powering financials, human resources, supply chain, analytic, enterprise relationship management and e-commerce solutions. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn. and London, Lawson has offices and affiliates serving North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Additional information about Lawson Software is available on the Web at http://www.lawson.com, or by calling (800) 477-1357, ext. 100.

Lawson, Lawson Software, LawsonTone, lawson.insight, lawson.community, lawson.consulting and Self-Evident Applications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lawson Software.

Other company and product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.