Contact:

Jennifer Schwegman, KC Associates

651.247.6640

jennifer@kc-associates.com

 

Minneapolis, Feb. 17, 2006—Minneapolis marketing and public relations consulting firm and agency KC Associates supplied much of the survey data that helped justify the focus on supercomputing in President Bush's recent State of the Union Address, the firm announced today.

Boston-based IDC, the most influential industry analyst firm covering the global supercomputing industry, regularly uses KC Associates as its data-gathering arm for supercomputing market surveys. The surveys are commissioned by departments of the federal government and private-sector organizations, such as the Washington, D.C.-based Council on Competitiveness, to assess the needs of U.S. businesses, government agencies and universities that rely heavily on supercomputers. The report on independent software vendors (ISVs) is available at: www.compete.org

“Over the past two years, KC Associates collected data from hundreds of interviews with leading U.S. scientists, engineers and supercomputing vendors that proved crucial for guiding policy recommendations, some of which were reflected in President Bush's State of the Union Address,” said IDC Research Vice President Earl Joseph. “We chose KCA to help us with this important survey work because their staff is sophisticated, organized, persistent, unbiased and experienced at talking directly with IT industry leaders.”

KCA Principal Kirsten Chapman noted, “It’s very gratifying to find that your work has had an influence on government policymaking. The work we do for IDC is incredibly interesting and rewarding because we talk regularly with some of the most creative minds in science and engineering.”

To date, KCA has collected survey data on six studies for IDC.

About IDC
IDC is the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm in the information technology and telecommunications industries and is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. IDC analyzes and predicts technology trends to help clients make strategic, fact-based decisions on IT purchases and business strategy. Over 775 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide local expertise and insights on technology markets. Business executives and IT managers have relied for 40 years of IDC's advice through individual research documents, more than 500 subscription research services, one-on-one relationships with IDC's industry experts, custom consulting engagements, and world-class conferences and events.

About KC Associates
Since 1988, KC Associates has provided marketing consulting and communications services for B2B information technology (IT) companies. Unlike traditional firms and agencies, KC Associates is a virtual organization comprised of seasoned information technology-specific marketing professionals, each with 10 or more years’ experience in the IT industry. KC Associates’ services are affordable and span the entire market development spectrum—from market planning and product marketing consulting to marketing communications, public relations and event management.

KC Associates appears on The Business Journal‘s list of the top 25 Twin Cities public relations firms and is the only company listed that focuses solely on the IT products and services sector.

Clients have ranged from two-person IT services organizations, to mid-sized software firms such as Magenic Technologies and ShowCase Corporation, to multibillion-dollar companies, including Deluxe Corporation and Lucent Technologies. For more information about KC Associates, visit www.kc-associates.com.