LWSN Lawson Software, Inc. (MM)

Lawson Software (Nasdaq:LWSN) signed a contract with Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based Health Quest in Lawson's first quarter of fiscal 2006, which ended Aug. 31, 2005. The healthcare provider licensed the Lawson Human Resources suite to standardize its HR processes organization-wide in support of its growth plans. Health Quest is the largest healthcare provider in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley. It offers a full range of hospital services as well as pre-hospital emergency care, homecare and nursing home care. The not-for-profit health system includes three hospitals with 647 licensed beds and 4,200 employees. Health Quest will use the Lawson Human Resources products to replace several disparate human resources applications in order to automate administrative processes and centralize its HR functions into one consolidated system. The new system will enable employees to access and conveniently make changes to their own employment, benefit and payroll data while freeing HR personnel to pursue high-value work, such as recruiting key clinical personnel. "Our decision to select Lawson was based on our need for a unified, scalable solution to support our growth plans delivered by a vendor with deep experience serving healthcare provider organizations," said Nicholas Christiano, chief information officer, Health Quest. "We provide care for some of the fastest growing communities in New York State. Lawson will enable us to more efficiently hire and support additional clinical employees to address surging patient volume," added Mark Kochanowski, vice president of human resources, Health Quest. The Lawson products will help Health Quest manage its growing employee population more efficiently by automating routine HR transactions and accelerating the onboarding process for new employees. For example, the benefits administration module automates payroll deductions, enrollment changes and plan updates, streamlining many of the tasks associated with bringing on new staff. In addition, the e-Recruiting application helps manage and streamline the hiring process, enabling a shorter time-to-hire. A much larger candidate pool can be quickly sourced and more efficiently screened, to help Health Quest contact the best candidates. "As health systems grow to accommodate increasing demand, Lawson equips clients with Human Resources products that help organizations build a solid HR foundation that can scale with growth," said Steffan Haithcox, industry marketing director - Healthcare, Lawson Software. "With our proven healthcare experience and our focus on low total cost of ownership, we continue to help healthcare organizations save time and reduce costs so they can concentrate on their strategic priorities." Lawson serves more than 500 healthcare industry clients representing more than 4,500 facilities, including eight of the top 10 integrated delivery networks. The company also serves managed care systems, academic medical centers, hospitals, clinics, physician group practices, home healthcare, long-term care and other health services enterprises. Lawson solutions help healthcare organizations manage their business so they can focus on their patients, automate and streamline materials management for a better bottom line, and overcome the challenges of labor shortages. 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. Lawson Software and Lawson are registered trademarks of Lawson Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.