CAMBRIDGE, MASS., MARCH 13, 2006 — Monitor Software, a division of the Monitor Group, today announced the availability of MarketSight 5.0 (http://www.marketsight.com), an intuitive, easy to use research data analysis application that enables business users and market researchers to more efficiently analyze research data and find insights needed to make critical business decisions. MarketSight offers a collaborative, Web-based interface and self-service approach that allows users to easily analyze quantitative research and iteratively explore data as new questions and hypotheses emerge. In addition to a number of usability enhancements, MarketSight 5.0 introduces significant new features and functionality that further accelerate, simplify and streamline the research analysis process.

“Until recently, everyday users of market research simply didn’t have a tool to quickly and iteratively analyze data themselves,” said Dr. Fern Halper, a partner with industry analyst firm Hurwitz & Associates. “Business users who are closest to the data realize many benefits when they have access to business-focused research analysis tools that have traditionally been reserved for statisticians or professional researchers. They are able to gain deeper insight into their own data in a shorter timeframe, leading to reduced research costs, more informed decisions and improved competitive advantage for the business.”

MarketSight has proven successful for a wide range of businesses, from market research firms to large enterprises, across a number of vertical markets such as financial services, healthcare, telecommunications and consumer packaged goods. Customers include Boston Scientific Corporation, Prudential Financial, Fallon Community Health Plan, Meriwest Credit Union, National Cooperative Bank and Tech Market Analytics.

“MarketSight allows us to analyze research data much more quickly and easily than ever before,” said Peter Atkins, Marketing Research Manager for Fallon Community Health Plan. “This powerful tool automates statistical testing and highlights significant results, so we save a tremendous amount of time and are able to uncover deeper, more relevant market insights. Recent enhancements, such as charting, enable us to analyze data and share results even more efficiently. We are looking forward to leveraging the new features available in this release.”

MarketSight 5.0 offers new capabilities specifically designed to meet the needs of customers, including:

• Interactive Banner Runs – Banner Reports are a great way to get familiar with survey results and begin forming questions and theories to test because they summarize the results of all questions for key variables. Banners are created using MarketSight’s intuitive banner designer. Reports are presented as neatly-formatted PDF documents complete with a table of contents for easy navigation, and color highlighting to indicate statistically significant results.
• Industry-Leading Support for Tracking Studies – Tracking studies and continuously running surveys are highly informative but can be challenging to analyze. When survey structure changes, aligning data across waves is a complex, time-intensive task. MarketSight’s new Append Data Wizard makes merging data across waves fast and easy. The wizard walks users through a series of steps that result in correctly aligned waves of data, no matter how different the survey was across waves. Once waves of data have been matched, MarketSight can also create wave variables and automatically add the new wave of data to existing analyses.
• Statistical Test Automation and Optimization – MarketSight 5.0 offers significant statistics enhancements, making statistical testing more sophisticated, yet easier to use. This new version features an expanded set of statistical tests, and functionality that, like an expert statistician, always selects and runs appropriate tests based on the characteristics of survey data. New statistical testing options for more advanced users include the ability to display p-values, set confidence levels, apply different comparison tests or select more conservative statistical testing approaches.

In addition to these new features, MarketSight 5.0 offers a wide range of usability enhancements for increased efficiency. These include an automated variable creation process for “top box” and other common groupings, expanded export capabilities and homepage and navigation improvements.

MarketSight 5.0 is available as a hosted application or as an application that can be installed behind a corporate firewall. MarketSight uses a Web-based architecture to facilitate collaboration and sharing of research data and analysis.

About Monitor Software
Monitor Software is Monitor Group’s software division, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Monitor Software develops enterprise software, automated services and decision support tools based on Monitor Group’s proprietary methods and intellectual capital. These offerings enhance the delivery of Monitor Group services, helping customers and clients to more effectively address their most difficult and strategic business challenges. For more information, please contact us at 866-622-2763, marketsightinfo@monitorsoftware.com, or visit http://www.marketsight.com.