BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - March 17, 2009) - Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (
NYSE:
HHS),
surveyed 110 retailers between December 2008 and January 2009 to determine
that one-third of retailers have deployed some-level of hosted delivery for
their web commerce platform in terms of bandwidth, content management,
search, comparison shopping, analytics, or other personalization tools.
Hosted web commerce applications have proliferated more quickly than few
would have imagined possible. Our data reveals that 78% of Best-in-Class
companies that spend their money on on-demand applications point to the use
of hosted web commerce applications. To obtain a complimentary copy of the
report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com//summary/report/benchmark/5622-RA-retail-software-service.asp.
In SaaS technology investments, web applications are far and away the
leaders of the pack, with 65% of respondents indicating that this was the
leading area of SaaS IT spend. "This large number is a result of a
confluence of factors: the 'mainstreaming' of ecommerce across heretofore
reticent socio-economic lines; the near pervasiveness of broadband; and a
whole host of personalized applications often lumped under the umbrella of
web 2.0 applications," says Sahir Anand, senior retail analyst and author
of the "SaaS in Retail" benchmark report.
These all contribute to a more satisfying, content-filled, dynamic and
immersive ecommerce shopping experience. Post-SaaS-based deployments within
several areas in the retail online technology value chain, Best-in-Class
retailers reduced their IT costs by 17% (year-over-year). According to the
retailers surveyed, one-third have deployed some level of SaaS delivery for
their web commerce platform in terms of bandwidth, content management,
search, comparison shopping, analytics, or other personalization tools.
There are several examples of SaaS-based web platform models, such as the
one adopted by New York & Company, where they've outsourced their entire
web platform to a SaaS-model company, or Best Buy, which utilizes a SaaS
vendor to manage their dynamic content management. That's two major
companies using SaaS-deployed applications in very different, but very
meaningful ways. "Under present economic conditions, SaaS-based web
commerce applications do support the lean IT initiatives of retailers both
in terms of reducing capital infrastructure and associated IT support
costs," says Anand.
According to Anand, "From the end user's perspective, the key benefits are
the opportunity to more freely try initiatives, remove technical
complexity, and ensure the highest levels of service. Other benefits
include vastly improved scalability, lower total cost of ownership (TCO) --
you only pay for what you use, and economies of scale. Due to many users
of the same application, the vendor is incentivized to deliver
functionality on a frequent basis and to resolve any bugs or other
technical glitches immediately." Retailers can achieve the degree of online
flexibility and system responsiveness now necessary to remain competitive.
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the
following underwriters: Certona and ClairVoyix. To obtain a complimentary
copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com//summary/report/benchmark/5622-RA-retail-software-service.asp.
For additional access to complimentary Retail Research, please visit
http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-retail.
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.
© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
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www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Sahir Anand
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
Sahir.Anand@aberdeen.com
Chris Cunnane
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
Chris.Cunnane@aberdeen.com