Aberdeen Publishes Financial Management, IT Infrastructure, SCM, Marketing Effectiveness research

Research Examines XBRL Adoption, Big Data Management Tools, Inventory Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Manufacturing Operations Management


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Mar 8, 2012) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), today announced the publication of new research reports from its Financial Management and GRC, IT Infrastructure, Supply Chain Management, Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy, and Enterprise Applications research practices.

"Taking XBRL and Financial Disclosure Management to the Cloud," created by Ankita Tyagi, Research Associate for the Aberdeen Group Financial Management & GRC research practice, examines the role of cloud-based financial reporting platforms and how they are enabling companies to achieve their organizational objectives. While external drivers such as the compliance mandate drove much of XBRL adoption in the early part of 2011 (as cited by 55% of the respondents in the Enabling Compliance and Business Improvements through XBRL, report published April 2011), XBRL adoption in 2012 is primarily driven by companies need for expedited information delivery while leveraging fewer resources, and reducing operational costs -- benefits often associated with a cloud platform. This report examines how such cloud-based XBRL (Cl-XBRL) and cloud-based financial disclosure management (Cl-FDM) solutions are enabling companies to not only expedite their financial information delivery processes but also to reduce their labor and operational costs, and deployment time. To obtain a complimentary copy of this report visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=7484&camp=2.

"The Most Important Storage Tool for Managing Big Data," authored by Aberdeen's Dick Csaplar, Senior Research Analyst for the Aberdeen Group IT Infrastructure/Storage and Virtualization research practice, found that on average, companies that are use Scale-out NAS technology are managing their big data storage deployments more effectively than users of other storage technologies. Scale-out NAS users report that their storage is growing at an average rate of 52% per year, indicating storage requirements are doubling every year and a half. However, Scale-out NAS users also reported that they have been able to reduce their overall IT spend from 2010 to 2011 by 2.2% while users of other storage technologies, with slower data growth rates told Aberdeen that they have increased their IT spend by .4%. This Aberdeen report highlights how Scale-out NAS enables companies to manage larger quantities of big data without a linear increase in their IT spending. To obtain a complimentary copy of this report visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=7676&camp=2.

"Inventory Optimization: How Best-in-Class Stack Up on Customer Service Performance While Optimizing Their Inventory," prepared by Bryan Ball, Director for the Aberdeen Group Supply Chain Management practice, examines the meaning of inventory optimization and its effect on customer service. Often inventory optimization is twisted to mean inventory reduction. But reducing inventory blindly may result in shortages and degraded customer service. Companies are fighting for every scrap of business they have, and are focused on improving their relationships with customers. Today's supply chain professional is asked to reduce inventory costs while improving customer service. This is a difficult task. The increasing number of sales channels and the growing globalization trend further complicate the situation. Together, these trends demand that inventory must move faster and further than ever before. It is important to understand how Best-in-Class companies are balancing inventory reduction with customer service. To obtain a complimentary copy of this report visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=7684&camp=2

Aberdeen's "B2B Social Media Marketing: Are We There Yet?" benchmark report, prepared by Trip Kucera, Senior Research Analyst for the Aberdeen Group Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy research practice, reveals not only that social media lead generation is the top strategy of Best-in-Class companies, but that these top-performing companies generate over 240% more marketing generated leads from social media than all other companies. Aberdeen's research reveals that Best-in-Class companies are more likely to have social media integrated with established marketing channels, processes and metrics, including email marketing, lead management and lead measurement. "The next step for many B2B marketers is to make social media a more normalized part of their marketing campaign management," said Kucera. "Our research shows that while it's still early days for B2B social media lead generation, there are strong signals of social becoming a first-class citizen among the marketing mix." To obtain a complimentary copy of this research report visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=7635&camp=2.

"Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) in Automotive," prepared by Kevin Prouty, Vice President and Group Director for the Aberdeen Group Enterprise Applications practice, examines how automotive suppliers manage their manufacturing operations, and the impact of MOM systems on overall operations. To obtain a complimentary copy of this report visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=7683&camp=2.

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.

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