FAST and AskMe Partner to Bring Enterprise Search to Expertise Management Solutions
Oslo, Norway (ots/PRNewswire)
- AskMe to Integrate the FAST InStream(TM) OEM Enterprise Search Solution for More Efficient and Effective Employee Knowledge Networks
Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (FAST(TM)), the leading developer of enterprise search and real-time alerting technologies, today announced an OEM partnership with AskMe, the leading provider of Expertise Management solutions, under which FAST will serve as the search foundation for AskMe Enterprise, the most widely deployed solution for creating and managing Employee Knowledge Networks (EKN). AskMe Enterprise will be integrated with FAST InStream(TM), an OEM-specific enterprise search solution developed to meet the complex application-based search requirements of independent software vendors (ISVs).
FAST InStream is designed to increase the value of enterprise applications and boost ROI for the partner's customers by leveraging the power of FAST Enterprise Search Platform (FAST ESP(TM)) technology. Supporting both structured and unstructured data, FAST InStream provides unique value across all types of software applications, including enterprise portals and intranet sites, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, Business Intelligence (BI) suites and applications, as well as storage and archiving solutions.
AskMe is used by leading companies to drive greater innovation, increase productivity, and accelerate speed of execution. In many organisations, the needed expertise is often hidden by geographic and organisational boundaries while lessons learned remain undocumented or unaccessible to the broader organisation. AskMe solves this problem by connecting employees with the most relevant internal expertise faster to solve problems, share ideas, and collaborate. Resulting lessons learned are automatically disseminated to other employees to promote organisational learning and also captured by the system into a comprehensive knowledgebase for future reuse.
"To facilitate better people-to-people connections and to deliver highly relevant content, we needed to build upon an effective search technology," said Udai Shekawat, CEO, AskMe. "The contextual insight offered by FAST's search technology will help our solutions reach the next level of performance and users will benefit greatly from the improved speed and accuracy. This partnership fulfils AskMe's strategic commitment to maintain a leadership role in the marketplace by delivering best of breed technology to our customers."
"AskMe's solutions have transformed the way corporations capture and utilise employee expertise and have facilitated the development of some of the world's most innovative products," said Ali I. Riaz, FAST's chief operating officer. "This partnership validates FAST's vision of using FAST ESP to enable a range of innovative solutions. We are confident that with the integration of FAST's enterprise search technology, AskMe customers will be delighted with reduced latency as well as efficiency and productivity enhancements."
FAST has transformed enterprise search from a powerful, yet narrowly perceived function, into an enterprise-wide strategic and tactical capability of pivotal importance. FAST ESP, FAST InStream and FAST's portfolio of solutions and Search Derivative Applications (SDAs) supply a complete information retrieval solution ideal for a growing number of key vertical markets and applications including e-Commerce and Internet Portals, Financial Services, Government, Life Sciences, Media and Publishing, and Telecom. For FAST, the search never stops.
About AskMe
AskMe Corporation is the world's leading provider of Expertise Management software solutions for Global 2000 companies. The company's flagship product, AskMe Enterprise, connects employees with problems to employees with solutions. By using AskMe Enterprise, large companies are dramatically improving the quality and speed of execution throughout their organisation. AskMe's solutions been deployed by a robust list of blue chip companies that includes Honeywell International, Intel Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Gerber (a subsidiary of Novartis) and CNA Insurance, among others. Founded in 1999, AskMe is privately held with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Additional information available at www.askmecorp.com.
About FAST
FAST creates the real-time search and filter technology solutions that are behind the scenes at the world's best known companies with the most demanding search problems. FAST's flexible and scalable integrated technology platform elevates the search capabilities of enterprise customers and connects people to the relevant information they seek regardless of medium. This drives revenues and reduces total cost of ownership by effectively leveraging IT infrastructure. FAST's powerful enterprise search technology solutions are used by more than 2,000 global customers and partners, including America Online (AOL), AT&T, Cardinal Health, CareerBuilder.com, Chordiant, CIGNA, CNET, Dell, Factiva, Fidelity Investments, Findexa, IBM, Knight Ridder, LexisNexis, Overture, Rakuten, Reed Elsevier, Reuters, Sensis, Stellent, Tenet Healthcare, Thomas Industrial Networks, T-Online, US Army, Virgilio (Telecom Italia), Vodafone, and Wanadoo.
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 Pacific, Australia, South America, and the Middle East. For further information about FAST, please visit www.fastsearch.com.
(c) 2005 Fast Search & Transfer ASA - Fast Search & Transfer, FAST, FAST ESP, FAST Data Search, FAST Marketrac, FAST AdVisor, FAST InStream, FAST ImPulse, FAST mSearch, FAST ProPublish and the FAST four-coloured logo are trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. All rights reserved. FAST disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Fast Search & Transfer, Jim McManus (US), +1-781-274-6061 x 202,
fast@sparksource.com. Carine Zeier (Europe), +47-23-01-13-47,
+47-48-01-13-47 (Mobile). AskMe, Daniel Teeter, +1-425-564-9017,
dteeter@askme.com