BOSTON, MA--(MARKET WIRE)--Oct 9, 2008 -- "Optimizing Application Delivery over the WAN," a new benchmark report by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS - News), found that Best-in-Class organizations are spending $31 more per user annually on hardware, software, and services for application delivery and WAN optimization solutions as compared to all others. The report also found that Industry Average and Laggard organizations are spending $36 more per user annually on bandwidth upgrades as compared to Best-in-Class organizations. The report also revealed that this type of approach allowed Best-in-Class organizations to improve application response times by more than 12 times as compared to 13% average improvement for Laggard organizations. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5150.

"Organizations are looking to increase investments in WAN optimization solutions at the rate that is significantly higher than an overall increase in IT spend. Additionally, when looking to optimize application delivery over the WAN, Best-in-Class organizations are more likely to invest in technology solutions as compared to conducting bandwidth upgrades. However, Industry Average and Laggard organizations are also investing in solutions for application acceleration and bandwidth management, but their performance is well below that of Best-in-Class organizations. As organizations are looking to increase their spending on WAN optimization technology they are facing the challenge of selecting the right solution for their needs. Best-in-Class organizations have addressed this challenge effectively by developing capabilities for identifying performance bottlenecks and improving visibility into network and application performance," said Bojan Simic, research analyst, Aberdeen.

The report also found that organizations are looking to increase their spending on solutions for application delivery and WAN optimization by 7.8% over the next 12 months which is higher than the reported increase in investments in enterprise mobility solutions (7.6%), IT security (5.4%), and overall IT spend (5.8%). The report also showed that Best-in-Class organizations are 56% more likely to be using WAN optimization as a managed service as compared to all others.

The report also shows that end-user organizations are realizing that issues with application performance have a strong impact on key business processes, but the majority of organizations find it difficult to quantify that impact and include in their ROI calculations when making purchasing decisions about solutions for optimizing application delivery over the WAN. However, 53% of organizations reported that they are conducting projects to evaluate the impact of application performance on business goals.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Expand Networks, Ipanema Technologies, and Virtela Communications. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5150.

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(TM) 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:
     Bojan Simic
     Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
     (617) 854-5281
     bojan.simic@aberdeen.com