Aberdeen Group Previews Global SoMoClo(TM) Research and Education Initiative for C-Level Executives

SoMoClo Provides CIOs and CTOs Strategic Roadmap for Social, Mobile, and Cloud Integration


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Feb 13, 2012) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), today previewed its SoMoClo research and educational initiative to a select audience of US and UK-based global enterprises. The program provides Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), and other C-level executives with a strategic roadmap for the integration of social, mobile, and cloud technology infrastructure that envisions the technologies as a single, interwoven platform to be considered and managed as a single entity.

The announcement of Aberdeen's initiative, delivered at a VIP event hosted by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the British Consulate-General's Boston-area office, was presided over by Russ Klein, Vice President of Research Strategy, with a keynote address presented by Andrew Borg, Research Director for the Aberdeen Group Enterprise Communications research practice and the Mobility Center of Excellence. The event featured opening remarks by UK Vice-Consul David Hughson, and presentations from Steve Levy, CEO of Verivo Software, Theo Forbath, VP of Innovation Strategy for Aricent Group, and Patrick Kalaher, AVP of the Innovation Strategy Group and Chief Architect for Frog Design.

Aberdeen research analysts also delivered their perspectives on SoMoClo including: Hyoun Park, Research Analyst, Collaboration and Integrated Communications, and Dick Csaplar, Senior Research Analyst, Storage, Virtualization and IT Infrastructure. Other presenters were analysts Jim Rapoza, Derek Brink, Michael Lock, Nathaniel Rowe, Max Gladstone, and Trip Kucera, representing the various technology segments already experiencing the impact of the convergence of social, mobile, and cloud technologies such as IT security, retail and banking, sales and marketing effectiveness, business intelligence, and enterprise applications.

In the SoMoClo model, cloud is the core, mobility its edge, and social is the connection, from edge to edge, through the cloud. The model places these three disruptive technologies in context and describes the technical and services infrastructure that will allow organizations to provide an end-user experience in which all users, employees, customers, and partners, are connected (social), everywhere they go (mobile), and have access to data when and where they need it (cloud).

"As part of its mission to build a bridge between the UK and USA high technology communities, UKTI is pleased to host the public unveiling of the SoMoClo initiative," said David Hughson, Vice-Consul, Trade & Investment Officer, British Consulate-General Boston.

"We share a vision of the value of thought leadership in fostering collaboration with enterprises across the globe," said Klein. "We are proud to preview the SoMoClo initiative with industry leaders at the offices of the British Consulate-General."

"It's a testament to the global relevance of addressing the business value of social, mobile, and cloud technologies as a consolidated entity," according to Borg. "We are at a historical inflection point, where the opportunity for radical business transformation is created."

The event, sponsored by Verivo Software and The Aricent Group, concluded with the presentation and launch of SoMoClo.com, a new Aberdeen Group web site created as a dedicated news and information resource on the topic of social, mobile and cloud technology convergence, and addressing the core set of considerations for the technology purchase and support decisions that CIOs and CTOs will make in the coming months and years.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is 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 or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

About Verivo Software
A leading provider of enterprise mobility software, Verivo Software helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to centrally build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly, securely and across multiple devices. Hundreds of companies in numerous industries around the world rely on Verivo's platform to drive their mobility initiatives. To learn more, visit www.verivo.com.

About The Aricent Group
The Aricent Group is a global innovation and technology services company that helps clients to imagine, commercialize, and evolve products and services for the connected world. Bringing together the deep communication technology expertise of Aricent with the creative vision and user experience prowess of design firm frog, the Aricent Group provides a unique portfolio of innovation capabilities that seamlessly combines consumer insights, strategy, design, software engineering, and systems integration. To learn more, visit www.aricent.com.

(C) 2012 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
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