A Review of

Lawson
By J. Carlton Collins, CPA

The Company Behind the Product

When it comes to evaluating accounting software, too many evaluators dive right into the product without giving a second thought to the company behind the product. It is not prudent to disregard the stability and future of the accounting software publisher. Customers who have traveled this path before know that when you select an accounting software package, the resulting relationship is akin to a marriage. Once the product is installed, the customer becomes dependent upon the accounting publisher to supply updates for payroll taxes, sales taxes, and depreciation rates. The customer must also rely on the vendor to fix bugs, provide support, and continually enhance the product to run on the latest platforms and technologies. Like it or not, the continued success of the accounting software publisher has a direct bearing on the customer's continued success with the accounting software product. The bottom line is that some accounting software vendors have figured out the magical formula for producing top quality products, successfully distributing those products directly or through a profitable dealer channel, and supporting those products in an timely matter - all while remaining profitable and achieving a high level of customer satisfaction. Those companies that fall into this category should rate higher in your evaluation and selection process. With this in mind, presented below is an brief overview of Lawson - the company.

About Lawson

 

1.  

Company Name

Lawson Software

2.  

Address, Phone, Web Address. 

 

 

 

Lawson Software
380 St. Peter Street
St. Paul, MN 55102
+1 (651) 767-7000

www.lawson.com

3.  

Ownership

Lawson is publicly held. The common stock began trading on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol "LWSN" on December 7, 2001.

4.  

Latest Product Version

Environment 8.0.1

5.  

List of all Products Sold by Lawson.

 

Lawson Suites - Enterprise Performance Management, Supply Management, Financials, Human Resources, Services Automation

6.  

Lawson’s Key Management:

President and Chief Executive Officer,
Director

Executive VP, Chief Financial Officer

Executive VP, Worldwide Field
 Operations

Executive VP, Global Products
Division

Executive VP, Global Market 
Development 
General Counsel, Secretary and VP of 
Administration

 
Jay Coughlan

Robert Barbieri 
James DeSocio

Dean Hager

Eric Morgan

Bruce McPheeters: 

7.  

   Brief History of Lawson 

Founded by Richard Lawson in 1975, Lawson Software has grown with the computer revolution, but is still committed to the principles on which it was founded. Richard's brother, Bill, along with friend and former coworker John Cerullo, joined Richard during that first year when the company accepted its first customer, H. Brooks & Company, an independent produce wholesaler. At the time, Lawson created custom computer applications for H. Brooks and other customers. H. Brooks remains a loyal customer today.

 

8.  

Total number of customers
 around the world

Lawson has more than 1,800 customers today, including 13 percent of the Fortune 1000.

9.               

Total number of users

      

   

   

Financial Highlights

Total Revenues.  Total revenues increased to $115.5 million for the three months ended February 28, 2002 from $101.7 million for the three months ended February 28, 2001, or 13.6%.  The increase was due to a $3.4 million increase in license fees and a $10.5 million increase in services revenues.

 

License Fees.  Revenues from license fees increased to $49.1 million for the three months ended February 28, 2002 from $45.8 million for the three months ended February 28, 2001, or 7.3%.  The increase is primarily due to demand for enterprise applications software from customers in our targeted vertical markets, most notably healthcare, professional services and public sector.  The increase also reflects an increase in the number of licensing agreements in the three months ended February 28, 2002, as well as increased customer acceptance of our professional services automation solution.  Revenues from license fees as a percentage of total revenues for the three months ended February 28, 2002 and 2001 were 42.5% and 45.0%, respectively.  The decrease as a percentage of revenues was primarily a result of the increase in revenues from services as a percentage of revenues.

 

Services.  Revenues from services increased to $66.4 million for the three months ended February 28, 2002 from $55.9 million for the three months ended February 28, 2001, or 18.8%.  The increase was primarily due to an increase in maintenance revenues, reflecting an expanded customer base and greater demand for consulting services.  Services revenues as a percentage of total revenues for the three months ended February 28, 2002 and 2001 were 57.5% and 55.0%, respectively.

Source of this information : http://ir.lawson.com/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=LWSN&script=1901 

 

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Contact the Editor - J. Carlton Collins, CPA

 

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