Lawson Signs Significant Contract with Boyd Gaming; Entertainment Group to Streamline HR, Financial and Reporting Processes, Helping the Organization Become More Cost Effective, Efficient and Competitive

Business Wire, Oct 19, 2005

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lawson Software (Nasdaq:LWSN) signed a major contract with Boyd Gaming Corporation in Lawson's first quarter of fiscal 2006, which ended Aug. 31, 2005. A Lawson Human Resources and Financials client since 1995, Boyd Gaming licensed Lawson Reporting Suite, and the Employee and Manager Self-Service, e-Recruiting and Strategic Ledger applications. Boyd Gaming will use the new Lawson applications to streamline back-office systems and increase administrative efficiencies organization-wide.

As part of the contract, Boyd Gaming has also become a charter member in Lawson's World-Class Passport(SM) program, which is a joint offering of Lawson and The Hackett Group, a business process advisory firm. Lawson Professional Services and The Hackett Group will provide Boyd Gaming with best practices research and advisory services, along with process transformation, implementation and consulting support.

With 18 properties in six states and 25,000 employees, Boyd Gaming is a leading diversified owner and operator of casino properties. The company was established in Las Vegas in 1975, and has expanded into seven new gaming jurisdictions over the last 10 years.

"As a growing company in the highly competitive gaming industry, it was time to update our technology and make corresponding business changes to help us improve efficiency, data access and reporting capabilities," said Cass Palmer, VP of Human Resources, Boyd Gaming Corporation. "With Lawson's applications and Hackett Best Practices, we're implementing the technology functionality we need, while re-engineering our business processes, so we can measure our success against what other companies are doing. Additionally Lawson's easy-to-implement solutions gave us the confidence that the technology will meet our needs today, but also will grow with us as our organization expands."

Specifically, Lawson Reporting Suite will provide Boyd Gaming with proactive notifications and online collaboration tools, improving the organization's ability to collect, analyze and share business data. As a result, appropriate staff will receive timely, actionable information they need to make faster, more informed decisions.

Lawson's e-Recruiting application will replace Boyd Gaming's current outsourced recruiting system, which charges the organization for every job posting. Lawson Employee and Manager Self-Service will give employees more visibility and control over their own information, such as benefit and payroll data.

As a premier participant in the World-Class Passport program, Boyd Gaming will be able to use its Lawson implementation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of key business processes with the help of world-class performance metrics in finance, HR, and other SG&A areas from Hackett's Book of Numbers(C) Research series, detailed information on Hackett-Certified(SM) Practices and how to implement them in Lawson software, best practice benchmarking, and business process advisory services.

"Service organizations recognize the value technology provides, but must be able to prove how it will deliver real business outcomes at a low total cost of ownership," said Jennifer Steinbauer, manager, Strategic Alliances, Lawson Software. "We're seeing great interest in our partnership with The Hackett Group. Companies like Boyd Gaming recognize the benefit of implementing new technology while optimizing business processes, to ensure they receive maximum value from their technology investment."

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. With headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., Lawson has offices and affiliates serving North and South America, Europe, and Africa. For more information, go to www.lawson.com. Lawson Software and Lawson are registered trademarks of Lawson Software, Inc. All rights reserved.

Hackett-Certified, Book of Numbers, and Hackett World-Class Passport are service marks of The Hackett Group.

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 is not obligated to update forward-looking statements based on circumstances or events that occur in the future. Risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences include but are not limited to: uncertainties in the company's ability to realize synergies and revenue opportunities anticipated from the Intentia International acquisition; 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and as included in other documents the company files from time to time with the Commission.