Lawson CUE 2008 attendees once again were treated to one of the best key note presentations in the enterprise software industry. Amidst CEO Harry Debes "Dean Martin Show" themed key note and SVP Dean Hager's "The Office" parody on Day 2, the team strongly articulated Lawson's progress, current successes, and future direction. Key announcements include:

• Lawson M3 Trace Engine 3.0 designed for food safety for food and beverage enterprises. Meeting current and future compliance requirements for EU and US food safety regulations, M3 Trace Engine simplifies the process of tracking ingredients and finished products. This latest release brings key functionality to the US market. With growing concerns about overall food safety, enterprises need to share trace data such as product origin and transport data, provide evidence about product trace lines, and recreate history in the event of food safety incidents.

• Acquisition of Freeborders for key PLM capabilities for the fashion industry. Lawson acquired the PLM division of San Francisco based Freeborders. With very short product life cycle times for product concept to retail store shelf placement, PLM will provide fashion manufactures with quicker sourcing capabilities and lead time reduction. Lawson will add 79 global customers and the product will be sold as a stand alone product.

The bottom line

Feedback from customers at CUE, one on one's with key executives, and discussions with partners demonstrate that the senior management team has managed to turnaround the company while also digesting an acquisition. New offerings with a strong industry focus and future product strategy bode well for the 4000+ customers and potential prospects in key industries such as health care, public sector, food and beverage, fashion, equipment service management and rental, and distribution. Expect Lawson to continue to expand its international presence while remaining focused on its core markets.