BOSTON, MA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 28, 2008 -- A recent survey of more than 200 IT and business decision-makers found them planning to expand deployments of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies beyond traditional applications. When asked what they are tagging or planning to tag with RFID technologies, IT assets were cited by the highest percentage of respondents (43%), ahead of more traditional manufacturing work in process, or WIP (35%), and inventory (30%). This demonstrates the growing use and business value of RFID technologies, according to a new study by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (HHS - News). To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=4895.

Surveyed users are also taking specific steps to maximize the business value of their RFID investments. Companies were divided into Best-in-Class, Industry Average and Laggard performers, based on criteria such as year-over-year changes in compliance with external Service Level Agreements (SLAs), unplanned downtime, and "time to information," or the time required to make raw data accessible and actionable for business users. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of Best-in-Class companies surveyed are proactively and regularly testing and measuring performance of their Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and IT infrastructure deployments. These efforts helped those companies enjoy significant business benefits, including increased performance of their infrastructures and business value and ROI of their RFID investments, according to the new study.

Best-in-Class companies enjoyed an average of:

 
--  75.4% year-over-year increase in the number of applications meeting or
    exceeding external SLAs

--  16.7% year-over-year increase in IT infrastructure operational
    efficiency and business responsiveness

--  1.92% year-over-year reduction of unplanned downtime

--  6.9% year-over-year reduction in "time to information" for business
    intelligence

"These findings underscore the link between closer integration of RFID and IT infrastructures and maximizing the business value of investments in both areas," said Michael Dortch, senior research analyst, Aberdeen. "Best-in-Class companies are increasing integration of RFID and IT infrastructure management, by focusing on effective monitoring, testing and optimization of their IT and RFID infrastructures." Best-in-Class companies are 50% more likely than Industry Average and more than twice as likely as Laggard respondents to test, measure and manage RFID and IT infrastructure performance proactively and regularly, the study found.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Acsis, Inc., Fluensee, Inc., Motorola and Xterprise. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=4895.

To access all of Aberdeen's complimentary research please visit http://research.aberdeen.com.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

 
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          Media Contact:
     Michael Dortch
     Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
     (415) 310-6480
     michael.dortch@aberdeen.com