Cloud Computing Is Democratizing Computing Power and Traditional IT Barriers of Cost, Time, Quality, Scale, and Geographic Location

Top Performers Reducing Cost, Complexity and Energy Consumption


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - October 8, 2009) - A new study, recently published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), revealed top performing companies that have adopted cloud computing have reduced IT costs 18% and data center power consumption by 16%.

The new report, "Business Adoption of Cloud Computing: Reduce Cost, Complexity and Energy Consumption," examined the business adoption of cloud computing of 184 organizations, including small-to-medium and enterprise businesses.

The survey revealed the top business pressures driving the adoption of cloud computing include:

--  Overall cost of IT infrastructure
--  Need to enhance competitive advantage
--  Lack of flexibility in the current IT environment
--  Need to support additional services or users
    

"Small businesses and startups are adopting cloud computing to break down traditional technological and financial barriers in the delivery of new categories of software innovation," said Bill Lesieur, research director, Aberdeen. "Larger businesses are cutting costs with cloud computing while embarking on a transformation of their IT service delivery models based on SOA architectures and cloud computing."

Survey results show top performing organizations shared several common characteristics, including:

--  77% monitor cloud applications for efficiency and use
--  75% have a cloud team or task force
--  69% use a formal cloud evaluation process
--  62% have a formal education plan for training cloud team
    

Cloud computing is changing the role of IT from predominantly one of maintenance to one of innovation enabler through the new service delivery model of cloud services. Consequently, top companies are realizing the critical need to establish a governance model around SOA architectures and cloud-based service delivery.

To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=6220.

Please join our new LinkedIn Group, Green IT & Sustainability Research at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2170092.

End user organizations can also contact us for additional information, discussion or to join our survey community via: green@aberdeen.com

Visit Research.Aberdeen.com for additional access to complimentary Information Technology Research.

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.

© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Bill Lesieur Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5244 bill.lesieur@aberdeen.com