InfoSpace and FAST Announce Partnership to Provide Carriers with New High-Powered, Integrated Mobile Search Solution
Monday February 12, 6:01 pm ET
Companies Leverage Strength in Storefront, Portal, Local and WAP Search to Offer Mobile Carriers Unmatched Customization and Ease of Deployment
BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST(TM)), a leading developer of search technologies, and InfoSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ:INSP - News), a leading developer of mobile platform services, today announced a partnership to deliver a next-generation white label ASP mobile search service that will enable carriers to take more control over their content business models, and provide a richer mobile search experience to customers. The two companies, with more than 20 years combined experience in the search industry, have deployed more white label mobile search solutions worldwide than any other provider.
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The strategic partnership for mobile search will offer carriers unsurpassed functionality, reliability, relevancy and performance in a mobile search solution, merging FAST's superior search software, relevancy algorithms, crawling and indexing technologies with InfoSpace's expertise in mobile infrastructure, metasearch, carrier integration and customer-facing ASP solutions. For carriers that increasingly need to position themselves to compete against new market entrants and capitalize on new revenue opportunities, the joint solution from FAST and InfoSpace will give them greater versatility in controlling the user experience across multiple platforms, and deploying business models that better promote their own brands and services.
"Our ongoing partnerships on mobile search with leading carriers in North America and Europe highlight our expertise in meeting the needs of their customers," said Steve Elfman, executive vice president of InfoSpace's mobile business unit. "We're joining forces with FAST to further our integrated approach that will unlock the full potential of mobile search, including enhanced user discoverability and increased carrier revenue."
By leveraging the industry's most advanced search platform and its relevancy and personalization capabilities, InfoSpace and FAST will help carriers realize the promise of mobile search with improvements in the discovery and recommendation of downloadable content, access to the best off-deck mobile web index and best-of-breed alternatives for mobile advertising. Moreover, the companies will collaborate to develop superior storefront and WAP index functionality.
"Search is the most used and most profitable tool on the Internet. The FAST and InfoSpace partnership takes the search paradigm to mobile users to allow for controlling and monetizing each user interaction with a robust set of features, built on top of superior portal search and mobile web search," said John Markus Lervik, CEO of FAST. "Personalized results enhance user satisfaction, increase purchases, increase traffic, and drive advertising revenue or any other business model deemed important by the mobile carrier."
The partnership between FAST and InfoSpace typifies the exciting growth opportunities in the mobile search market, including personalized mobile search and targeted advertising. By 2011, eMarketer predicts brands will be spending nearly $5 billion on advertising, up from $421 million in 2006.
About InfoSpace, Inc.
InfoSpace, Inc. is a leading developer of tools and technologies to help people discover and enjoy content and information -- whether on a mobile phone or on the PC. The company's mobile platform and applications, such as InfoSpace Find It!(TM) (www.infospacefindit.com), create programming and sales opportunities for carriers, while satisfying consumer demand for highly relevant mobile functionality and content. InfoSpace uses its proprietary metasearch technology to power a portfolio of branded Web sites, including Dogpile® (www.dogpile.com), ranked highest in customer satisfaction by J.D. Powers and Associates, and Zoo (www.zoo.com), a new family-friendly search engine, and provide private-label search and online directory services to consumers on a global basis. More information can be found at www.infospaceinc.com.
About FAST
FAST creates the real-time search and business intelligence solutions that are behind the scenes at the world's best- known companies with the most demanding information challenges. FAST's flexible and scalable integrated technology platform and personalized portal connects users, regardless of medium, to the relevant information they need.
FAST is headquartered in Norway and is publicly traded under the ticker symbol 'FAST' on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The FAST Group operates globally with presence in Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, the Americas, and the Middle East. For further information about FAST, please visit www.fastsearch.com.
© 2007 Fast Search & Transfer ASA - Fast Search & Transfer, FAST, Adaptive Information Warehouse, AIW, AdMomentum, Impulse and Hubway are trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. The FAST logo, FAST ESP, FAST InStream, FAST InPerspective, FAST ProPublish, FAST Contextual Insight and FAST Unity are registered trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. All rights reserved.
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding InfoSpace's mobile search solution and its partnership with Fast Search & Transfer. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could affect InfoSpace's actual results include actual performance under the Fast Search & Transfer agreement, the scope and timing of market acceptance and mobile carrier implementation of the mobile search solution. A more detailed description of certain factors that could affect actual results include, but are not limited to, those discussed in InfoSpace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed from time to time, in the section entitled, "Risk Factors." Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. InfoSpace undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
