MCLEAN, Va., April 9, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been positioned by leading information technology (IT) market analyst firm, Gartner Inc., in the "leaders quadrant" of its 2008 North American help desk outsourcing and desktop outsourcing Magic Quadrant reports. The Magic Quadrant, one of the most recognized industry tools for helping companies evaluate alternative providers of a specific product or service, analyzes companies' completeness of vision and ability to execute in delivering desktop managed services to customers.

"Desktop managed services are a strategic part of the Northrop Grumman information technology business, and we continue to invest in a wider range of services to support our customers' increasingly complex IT requirements," said David Zolet, president of Northrop Grumman's Commercial, State and Local group.

Of the four quadrants (leaders, challengers, visionaries, niche players), leaders are defined in the Magic Quadrant for Desktop Outsourcing Services by Gartner Inc. as "external service providers (ESPs) that are performing their service solutions skillfully, have a clear vision of the desktop outsourcing services market's direction, and are actively building and improving their competencies to sustain their leadership position. One ESP that was in the challengers quadrant in 2007 moved to the leaders quadrant in 2008. The high number of ESPs in the leaders quadrant indicates a maturing of the desktop outsourcing services market. An ESP in the leaders quadrant has demonstrated that it has substantial desktop managed service experience and comprehends the requirements to successfully deliver these services. These ESPs have been providing services for many years, and their ability to execute their strategic visions has been clearly illustrated. This was particularly evident during the reference-checking portion of the analysis process." The report also indicates that the maturing desktop managed services market continues to grow in numbers of users and range of services provided.

The two reports, "Magic Quadrant for Desktop Outsourcing Services, North America, 2008" and "Magic Quadrant for Help Desk Outsourcing, North America, 2008," were authored by Richard Matlus and William Maurer. The reports evaluated desktop outsourcing services ESPs with at least $45 million in desktop service revenue and six North American-based references.

About Gartner, Inc.'s Magic Quadrants

The Magic Quadrants referenced here are copyrighted 2008 by Gartner, Inc. and are reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. 

  CONTACT:  Juli Ballesteros, APR
          Northrop Grumman Information Technology
          (703) 556-2736
          juli.ballesteros@ngc.com