Digital Product Development Delivers Best in Class Results

Top Performers Are Hitting Product Development Targets on a 91% or Better Average by Digitally Prototyping Product Performance and Manufacturability Upfront


BOSTON, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 10, 2007 -- Digital prototyping and electronic notification technologies are helping engineering and manufacturing organizations to meet launch dates, revenue, cost and quality targets -- on budget -- despite demand for more products of increasing complexity according to a new report from Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS).

Findings from Aberdeen's Digital Product Development Benchmark Report show that digital prototyping enables the assessment of a product's performance and manufacturability. Additionally, electronic forms, lifecycle management and workflows all automate the notification of product development stakeholders. For example, among companies surveyed, 51% of top performers assess manufacturability prior to design kickoff through digital prototypes.

"Digital product development technologies allow companies to build fewer physical prototypes, process fewer change orders and have higher design reuse rates by digitally prototyping the product and then making it available to the wider audience of product development stakeholders," said Chad Jackson, Service Director of Aberdeen's Product Innovation and Engineering practice and report author. "As a result, these top performers are spending between $7,600 and up to $1,200,000 less than laggards for product development costs."

The Digital Product Development Benchmark Report is made available at no charge due in part to the following sponsors: Autodesk, HP, and Anasys.

To download a complimentary copy of this report, please visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3954

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.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Chad Jackson Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5288 Chad.Jackson@aberdeen.com