Standardized Best Practices and Enterprise Level Applications Improve Project Profitability

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - February 10, 2010) - A difficult economy and global competition leave project-based businesses with little room for error today in managing projects for profitability, according to Delivering Project Profitability: On Time and Under Budget, a landmark study by the Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS). The key to project profitability is delivering projects and milestones on time and under budget. While that sounds simple enough, with so many inter-connected moving parts, this is very difficult to do without the necessary tools to schedule resources, manage and report against project delivery and control costs.

The research study revealed that top performing companies are 57% more likely to have defined and implemented standard best practices and 73% of these leaders deploy some combination of project scheduling, project management and reporting and project costing solutions. As a result they delivered 91% of projects early or on time and completed 96% of projects within budgets. Project profitability improved by 37% year over year. "Top performers achieve greater visibility to both costs and schedules and therefore have better control of operational processes. These capabilities contribute to their ability to accurately quote, source, and deliver their work, generating greater consistency and predictability in delivering projects on time and under budget," explains Cindy Jutras, vice president and research fellow, Aberdeen Group. "Not only does this avoid project delays, but it also ensures that projects stay aligned with customer requirements and potentially drive repeat business," adds Nuris Ismail, research associate, Aberdeen Group.

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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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