LAVA boosts financial services, customer management offerings with APS acquisition

Raising the bar for its financial services offerings, LAVA Systems has acquired Automated Process Solutions Limited (APS), a U.K.-based workflow implementation specialist that counts BUPA (the U.K.'s largest health insurer), Halifax plc (Europe's largest mortgage provider) and American Express among its customers. The all-stock trade ­ valued at approximately $2.3 million ­ brings APS' experience with workflow and document-enabled process implementation in the financial services industry to LAVA, which has had problems penetrating the North American banking and insurance markets.

APS and LAVA have strong synergy and complement each other well. "LAVA has already developed very specific applications that provide proven cost benefit to their customers, while APS have the experience to efficiently implement this type of solution," according to APS Director Steve Salvin. LAVA president and CEO Peter Hamilton added that APS' "enviable track record in the implementation of claims and policy administration systems within financial services companies [will] complement our own client base."

An important factor for APS was the fact that LAVA's applications require them to do less custom coding than other products they install. "This should speed up our implementation projects, make the systems more easily supportable and provide substantial benefits to our customers," said APS Director Simon Tomlinson