Aberdeen Launches Digital Consumer Technology Practice; IT Market Strategy Firm Expands Coverage To Include Digital Consumer Technology Products, Companies, and Key Enabling Technologies.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2002

Aberdeen Group, a leading provider of technology market consulting and research, today announces the launch of its new Digital Consumer Technology (DCT) practice. The practice covers products, companies, and key enabling technologies in the converging Consumer Electronics (CE) and PC markets.

Aberdeen sees an exciting vision of the future now emerging in the Digital Consumer Technology market. It includes gateways, home servers, wireless and wire-line networking, and networked multimedia devices supporting audio, data, and video storage, and communications. This compelling market vision is driven by recent announcements and product introductions by a number of market players including cable providers and set-top box makers, traditional Consumer Electronics (CE) firms, game console suppliers, PC companies, display firms, and software developers. This vision is also driven by emerging semiconductor and other enabling technologies.

"Market and competitive dynamics suggest that the long-anticipated competitive collision of the Consumer Electronics and PC markets is now actually in process, driving disruptive change and profit-threatening competition," says Russ Craig, Research Director in Aberdeen's DCT and Semiconductor practices. Chief Research Officer and DCT analyst Peter Kastner says, "Aberdeen Group sees scenarios that include a return to higher growth in the historically stagnant CE arena as well as the now-stalled consumer PC world. Consequently, the future market environment holds many opportunities and challenges for current participants as well as disruptive new entrants."

Aberdeen Group's Digital Consumer Technology (DCT) Emerging Market Service is focused on the companies and technologies that are driving this market forward. Research covers an overview of Digital Consumer Technology including key enabling technologies, illustrative end-user scenarios, and basic strategic principles to be used to exploit the emerging market. It also includes an assessment of the base strategic position of suppliers in the six markets cited above, and an overview of key product arenas: Gateways, Media Servers/PC-CE convergence, Networks (WiFi and wire-line), Displays/User Interface/Usability, and Internet/Cable enablement. Further, the DCT practice assesses the implications for industry participants, as well as the impact on channels and key business process capabilities.

The basic service is priced at $19,500 per year and includes a presentation of research findings, an analysis of a client's relative competitive position, and quarterly updates via web cast. It also includes periodic bulletins regarding competitive initiatives, emerging product categories, and key enabling technologies. In addition, clients have ongoing access to analysts in the practice. Analysis of the top three competitors in each of the six markets is available for an additional $5000.

For more information about Aberdeen Group's Digital Consumer Technology practice, visit our web site at www.aberdeen.com or contact Bryan Zocco via e-mail [e-mail] or by phone at 617-854-5223.

About Aberdeen

Since 1988, Aberdeen has been a leader in providing market analysis and positioning services that help business technology suppliers meet the challenge of establishing leadership in fast-changing markets. Aberdeen is headquartered in Boston, MA, and has research divisions in Palo Alto, CA; Fort Collins, CO; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Aberdeen is accessible via the Web at www.aberdeen.com.