BOSTON, MA--(MARKET WIRE)--Nov 13, 2008 -- In an extremely competitive service landscape, Best-in-Class service firms are looking to empower their field technicians and mobile workers with tools as to ensure quick and efficient service. Such firms are actively taking steps to map and automate service-specific workflows to replace outdated and inefficient paper-based systems, as indicated in the recent research report entitled "Mobility in Today's Service Organization" published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS - News). To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5304

Aberdeen's benchmark survey of over 250 companies identified that rising cost pressures were top of mind for most service firms, and the need to balance these pressures with rising customer expectations for service was the major driver for these firms to evaluate mobile automation initiatives. In an attempt to meet these pressures, leading firms were more than two times as likely to track their mobile assets in real-time and almost two times as likely to provide their field technicians with mobile tools to manage service work orders and parts-related information.

"In our research, firms indicate that 59% of their field workforces are currently equipped with mobile devices not including their personal cell phones. This is up from 49% last year and is expected to rise to 77% next year," said Sumair Dutta, Research Analyst at Aberdeen. "But Best-in-Class Mobile Field Service is more than just handing a device to your field workers, it's about providing and empowering your workers with access to the right information in real-time so as to allow them to complete their service work. Companies that are able to do this effectively are seeing a near $10 drop in costs per dispatch and an overall 12% boost in service profitability."

To support improved access, increased data capture and enhanced data transfer capabilities needed for real-time field worker empowerment, leading firms were nearly two times as likely to leverage mobile field service applications for work order management and 42% more likely than others to leverage mobile solutions for optimized scheduling and asset tracking. As a result leading firms were experiencing:

 
--  An 18% decrease in mean time to repair over the last year
--  A 19% increase in technician productivity over the last year, compared
    to a 9% increase for all other firms
--  A 93% level of SLA compliance, compared to a 77% performance for all
    other firms
--  Service-based margins of 25% as compared to a 18% level for all other
    firms

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Blackbay and WennSoft. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5304.

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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