New Benchmark study finds that partnering with R&D providers drives innovation, decreases cycle-time, and reduces time to market
SAN RAMON, Calif. – July 23, 2008 – Achievo® Corporation, a software outsourcing and information technology services provider, today announced that a recent study published by Aberdeen Group supports a number of Achievo's contentions about the requirements for effectiveness in outsourcing partnerships. Achievo offers its clients local account management and project delivery capabilities through its regional offices in Japan, North America, Europe and Greater China that are integrated with and supported by its offshore delivery centers in China and its headquarters in the United States.
The newly released benchmark report, "Software Development and Innovation: Speeding ‘Time-to-Market,' " by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS), found that "Best-in-Class " organizations realized an 18% decrease in time-to-market as a result of their R&D / Engineering Outsourcing engagement - a rate that is more than 26 times greater than industry average organizations. Additionally, "Best-in-Class " organizations are 123% more likely than "Laggards " to ensure their outsourcing provider has "skin in the game, " validating Achievo's contention that outsourcing engagements must function as a value partnership rather than an employee-contractor relationship.
"According to our research, Achievo is one of the leading providers of practices that are influencing best-of-breed developers, " said Ralph Rodriguez, Senior Vice-President of Research, Technology Markets group and author of the study. "Achievo has a partnership model that offers a local interface to the back end work. Achievo's model allows business to be conducted in the language of the customer, effectively removing challenges that can beleaguer outsourcing relationships. "
"Aberdeen's research bears out our contention that the choice of partnership is critical for effective R&D and engineering outsourcing, " said Robert P. Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of Achievo. "We believe that delivery teams must be able to provide the appropriate industry focus and knowledge, current training and education, and a shared outlook about the work. Additionally, Achievo has always stressed the importance of appropriate metrics to measure project status and assess the engagement's effect on our customers' overall business goals. We feel validated that research from a highly respected organization of Abeerden's caliber has corroborated Achievo's key philosophies, particularly with regard to the importance of partner selection. "
An example of this kind of close working partnership is Achievo's association with Accela, a leading provider of government automation software solutions that connect citizens to services. "We found that by working with Achievo we were able to quickly boost our production capabilities and significantly reduce our time-to market with new products, updates and upgrades, " said Rich Morrey, Accela CIO. "The Achievo team is well-trained and experienced, has strong team leadership, and excellent quality assurance. Most importantly, we have realized a substantial savings in costs – more than one-third by our count – amounting to millions of dollars over the past few years. "
To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, which was underwritten by Achievo, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30411273&cid=4898.
About Achievo Corporation
Achievo Corporation is a leading provider of software outsourcing and information technology services to a global client base primarily through its regional offices in Japan, North America, Europe and Greater China. Five of Achievo's delivery centers in China are ISO-27001 certified, of which two are also ISO-9001 certified and another is CMMI level 5 certified. With expertise in diverse technologies including Java/J2EE, .NET and embedded platforms, Achievo offers improved efficiencies, scale, diversification, and a skilled talent pool to deliver cost-effective, client-centric, and scalable IT outsourcing services to clients worldwide. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Achievo has offices in the United States, Canada, Germany, China and Japan. For information on the company and its services, visit www.achievo.com.
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 AberdeenTM 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.
