Lawson Software Acquires Competency Assessment Solutions; Acquisition Strengthens Lawson's Market Leadership Position in the Healthcare Sector by Enhancing Lawson's Human Capital Management Suite.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lawson Software (Nasdaq:LWSN) today announced the acquisition of Competency Assessment Solutions (CAS), of Princeton, N.J., a provider of performance management solutions for the healthcare industry. With the acquisition, Lawson can offer healthcare customers a solution that will typically provide a faster, simpler method to comply with reporting standards set by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

The CAS offering enables healthcare providers to replace multiple, time-consuming and often paper-based processes for meeting JCAHO standards. The Web-based system covers the entire performance management and reporting process, from job descriptions and performance appraisals to competency assessments, new employee orientation, and mandatory policy reviews.

Recent changes in the JCAHO audit process have made compliance reporting a challenge for healthcare organizations. As a result, healthcare organizations must now be prepared for an unannounced JCAHO audit at any time, as opposed to the previous process, which involved pre-scheduled audits. With the new JCAHO "spot audits," it is even more critical that information regarding appraisals be accessible quickly and reliably. Manual systems can make responding to these audits time-consuming or even result in an audit failure, if adequate documentation cannot be found.

"The online access to the CAS system for managers, employees and HR staff, has made our performance management process much more efficient, because the right parties have access to the right information when needed," said Deborah Patrick, vice president of human resources, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Towson, Md. "It also allows us to manage JCAHO spot audits much more quickly and effectively. By eliminating our previous time-consuming manual activities, we see time savings of up to 50 percent for our performance review and audit processes."

The acquisition demonstrates Lawson's continued commitment to the healthcare sector and further differentiates the company. It is consistent with the company's strategic focus on both the Human Capital Management market and the healthcare market.

"This acquisition is a strategic move that addresses a specific pain point for Lawson's healthcare customers," said Steffan Haithcox, healthcare strategy director, Lawson Software. "The combination of CAS' healthcare-specific functionality and Lawson's leading healthcare solutions make Lawson the clear choice for the market."

CAS founder Darica Ward will join the Lawson team and deepen Lawson's extensive expertise in the healthcare industry. Ward has a strong background in the healthcare industry, specifically in performance management and compensation. "Now, as part of Lawson, we are able to bring this valuable application to a much larger set of customers in the healthcare sector," Ward said. "By adding the CAS offerings to Lawson's broader set of healthcare applications, we are responding to significant operational and compliance challenges for healthcare organizations."

About Lawson Software

Lawson Software provides software and service solutions to 4,000 customers in manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and service sector industries across 40 countries. Lawson's solutions include Enterprise Performance Management, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Manufacturing Resource Planning, Enterprise Asset Management and industry-tailored applications. Lawson solutions assist customers in simplifying their businesses or organizations by helping them streamline processes, reduce costs and enhance business or operational performance. Lawson is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., USA, and has offices around the world. Visit Lawson online at www.lawson.com.

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 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 Lawson's ability to realize synergies and revenue opportunities anticipated from the Intentia International acquisition; uncertainties in the software industry; global military conflicts; terrorist attacks; pandemics, and any future events in response to these developments; changes in conditions in the company's targeted 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 Lawson Holding's Form S-4 Proxy Statement/Prospectus filed with the Commission.