Lawson Software Experiencing No Downturn, President Says

Lawson Software president Jay Coughlan says the company has avoided a sales slowdown because, unlike its competitors, it remains tightly focused on trying to deliver end-to-end solutions in several hot vertical markets.

"It's all about us being focused," said Coughlan, speaking at Lawson's annual CUE 2001 user conference here. "We are providing software to a targeted service sector...that radically changes the way businesses compete."

He identified the high-growth verticals as health care, financial services, the public sector, professional services and retail. Some of those verticals, such as health care, are providing protection for the company against the current downturn, he added. "No slowdown is apparent," he said, noting the company signed nine contracts each for $1 million or more in its third fiscal quarter ended in February.

Coughlan added that the company is seriously considering an IPO "but we don't want to do it in a bad [economic] environment...we'll do it when we're ready."

He said Lawson isn't moving toward an IPO merely because of the cash it would raise. "We need stock as a way to motivate, recruit and maintain high-tech talent," Coughlan explained. "We also need it for currency as we go wide and deep in these verticals."

At the conference, which attracted more than 5,000 users and partners, Lawson announced the release of lawson.insight 8.0.2, the latest version of its enterprise system software.

The company also strengthened an alliance with Siebel Systems by launching a new version of a connector product for Siebel e-business applications. The integration between Lawson and Siebel systems implementation will reduce manual processes and allow Lawson's transactions to be conducted in real time, officials said.

Finally, Lawson signed four new service-provider partners: Apient Solutions of Oklahoma City, Aelera Solutions of Atlanta, Eisner Technology Solutions of New York and Westin of Sacramento, Calif.