Following in the footsteps of rival vendors, including SAP AG, Lawson Software Inc this week announced plans to move into four new vertical markets. Aside from healthcare and retail marketing, the Minneapolis-based enterprise resource planning vendor said it plans to aggressively pursue the financial services, professional services, public sector and wholesale distribution markets. The company said it has formed a number of cooperative partnerships with application solutions and enterprise consulting firms, including Covanta Solutions and Deloitte & Touche, to help it better target and service the new markets. Each vertical will have a dedicated group of sales, services, marketing and product staff, Lawson said. The move to focus on vertical markets follows similar announcements by other ERP vendors, including JD Edwards and SAP, who, faced with increasing competition in the ERP market, are trying to differentiate their offerings in an attempt to boost revenues.
